Can one twin absorb the other?

[kiki5711]

I watched a show last night and there was mention about a women who while pregnant with twins had one eat up the other. I was so curious as to what the hell they were talking about so I googled it and this is what I found. I've never heard of this before and I have 3 kids, NEVER heard of vanishing twin. I find it to be very interesting.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Can_one_twin_absorb_the_other

Very interesting article. It explains the two different ways a twin can be absorbed and disappear.

http://www.babyzone.com/features/conten ... 525&Page=1

(Exact Quote)

Vanishing Twin Syndrome

By Deborah Bohn The rise in early-term ultrasounds has brought the Vanishing Twin Syndrome to light, revealing that a surprising number of twin pregnancies result in the birth of only one baby.

�We won the conception lottery!�

That�s what I wrote in my online journal when I found out that my husband and I were expecting twins. After months of hormone injections, blood tests, ultrasounds, pills, ovulation test kits and egg extraction procedures, plus a heartbreaking miscarriage, we had finally hit the baby jackpot with the help of a fertility specialist and in vitro fertilization. The ultrasound image at my eight-week check-up showed two shrimp-like embryos and two little heartbeats flashing on the screen. My gynecologist gave me the phone number for a twins support group and told me to get ready for a wild ride!

Imagine my shock and horror when the next ultrasound, a mere two weeks later, showed one fat, wriggly embryo and one tiny bean-shaped one with no heartbeat. We were devastated. Grief stricken. How could this have happened? What went wrong? And what was going to happen to the surviving fetus?

The doctor said I was experiencing Vanishing Twin Syndrome, a common occurrence in the early stages of a multiple pregnancy. I might feel some cramping and possibly a tiny bit of bleeding, but the healthy baby would most likely survive and the �little one,� as we called it, would be reabsorbed by my body over time and simply�vanish.

He was right. Although we were emotionally devastated by the loss of our tiny unborn baby, there was no discomfort or bleeding. My 20-week ultrasound revealed a healthy fetus and an empty amniotic sac, but no sign of the little twin. Our daughter was delivered healthy and on time, but we still think about what it would have been like to raise twins. We still sometimes miss the baby that came and went like a little ghost.

[klr]

God is not going to like this ...

... what's that ... you mean this is all part of God's Plan?

This also happens with other animals, although sometimes in different ways:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intrauteri ... annibalism

Intrauterine cannibalism is a behaviour in some carnivorous species, in which multiple embryos are created at impregnation, but only one or two are born. The larger or stronger ones consume their less-developed siblings as a source of nutrients.

In adelphophagy, the fetus eats sibling embryos, while in oophagy it feeds on eggs.[17]

Intrauterine cannibalism is known to occur in lamnoid sharks[18] and in the Fire Salamander,[19] as well as in some teleost fishes.[17] The Carboniferous-era chimaera, Delphyodontos dacriformes, is suspected of having practiced intrauterine cannibalism, also, due to the sharp teeth of the recently born (or possibly aborted) juveniles (adults are unknown), and the presence of fecal matter in the juveniles' guts.[20]

[Feck]

We had a kitten that had stolen an extra bit of tail from it's brother .

[kiki5711]

God is not going to like this ...

... what's that ... you mean this is all part of God's Plan?

This also happens with other animals, although sometimes in different ways:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intrauteri ... annibalism

Intrauterine cannibalism is a behaviour in some carnivorous species, in which multiple embryos are created at impregnation, but only one or two are born. The larger or stronger ones consume their less-developed siblings as a source of nutrients.

In adelphophagy, the fetus eats sibling embryos, while in oophagy it feeds on eggs.[17]

Intrauterine cannibalism is known to occur in lamnoid sharks[18] and in the Fire Salamander,[19] as well as in some teleost fishes.[17] The Carboniferous-era chimaera, Delphyodontos dacriformes, is suspected of having practiced intrauterine cannibalism, also, due to the sharp teeth of the recently born (or possibly aborted) juveniles (adults are unknown), and the presence of fecal matter in the juveniles' guts.[20]

you mean absorb the other embryo? how can they consume? I don't get it? they're not eating with their mouth???

[Feck]

Sharks sometimes do !

[klr]

God is not going to like this ...

... what's that ... you mean this is all part of God's Plan?

This also happens with other animals, although sometimes in different ways:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intrauteri ... annibalism

Intrauterine cannibalism is a behaviour in some carnivorous species, in which multiple embryos are created at impregnation, but only one or two are born. The larger or stronger ones consume their less-developed siblings as a source of nutrients.

In adelphophagy, the fetus eats sibling embryos, while in oophagy it feeds on eggs.[17]

Intrauterine cannibalism is known to occur in lamnoid sharks[18] and in the Fire Salamander,[19] as well as in some teleost fishes.[17] The Carboniferous-era chimaera, Delphyodontos dacriformes, is suspected of having practiced intrauterine cannibalism, also, due to the sharp teeth of the recently born (or possibly aborted) juveniles (adults are unknown), and the presence of fecal matter in the juveniles' guts.[20]

you mean absorb the other embryo? how can they consume? I don't get it? they're not eating with their mouth???

In Tiger Sand Sharks, the first baby shark to hatch in each uterus (the shark has two uterii) will eat - yes, eat - the rest. I'm sure we can find some footage if you really want ...

[tattuchu]

Jesus, you frightened me there. I didn't know you meant inside the womb. And I have a twin sister, so I was scared there for a bit. I mean, she lives in Trinidad. But still

[Elessarina]

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=2346476&page=1

[klr]

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=2346476&page=1

[kiki5711]

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=2346476&page=1

I am curious if these conditions happen more in certain situations more than others. Such as inbreeding, or some other type of situations?

[Warren Dew]

I just want to note that a vanishing twin in humans is not absorbed by the other twin; it's resorbed into the mother's body.

[tattuchu]

I just e-mailed my sister in Trinidad and told her not to visit at Christmas, cuz I've heard all about her nasty shenanigans

[Robert_S]

I just want to note that a vanishing twin in humans is not absorbed by the other twin; it's resorbed into the mother's body.

I always suspected they had teeth down there.

[cowiz]

My mother's a twin. It all could have been so much different if....

[FBM]

I just want to note that a vanishing twin in humans is not absorbed by the other twin; it's resorbed into the mother's body.

I always suspected they had teeth down there.

Ouch.