Bloodtyping and twin zygosity: reassessment and extension.

The determination of twin zygosity by bloodtyping is reconsidered, and the model for the individual case is reformulated. The crucial diagnostic question may be phrased as follows: Given the particular array of bloodgroup phenotypes that the twins display and are concordant for, how might this array have been obtained by a pair of dizygotic twins, and how might the array have been obtained by a monozygotic pair? The solution yields a differential probability value that is uniquely tailored to the actual phenotype array shown. The procedure offers a coherent and more direct method for arriving at the needed probability figures, and it is recommended to supersede previous methods. Some similarities and differences between the methods are discussed.