What Masha and Dasha Teach Us

Do you realize how boring it would be if we were all the same? Identical twins do not have the same insides not even blood chemistry. Even the ones who are actually congenital twins do not have the same physiology because they have different nerve systems which control everything. 
 
A great example is the true story of “Masha” and “Dasha”. A new mother was told that her twin babies had died at birth. However the truth was far different: they were sent to an institute near Moscow to be studied.
 
This was to be the fate of “Masha” and “Dasha” one of the most unusual sets of “Siamese” or conjoined twins ever born.
 
Identical twins are formed when a fertilized egg divides into two eggs. The two eggs grow into new babies that are identical in every respect. Conjoined or Siamese twins are formed in the same way as identical twins but the eggs, for some reason, don’t completely separate; instead, they remain partially attached. It was the unique way in which these twins were connected that caused Soviet scientists to take such an interest in them.
 
Although Masha and Dasha have four arms, they have only three legs. They stand on two of their legs, one controlled by Masha, one by Dasha (they were five before they learnt to walk) while the third, vestigial leg remains in the air behind them. The upper intestines are separated but they share a single lower intestine and rectum. They have four kidneys and one bladder, and often disagree on when to urinate. They have a common reproductive system.
 
Because their circulatory systems are interconnected, the twins share each other’s blood. Therefore, a bacterium or virus that enters one twin’s bloodstream will soon be seen in the blood of her sister. Yet surprisingly, illness affects them differently. Dasha is short-sighted, prone to colds and right handed. Masha smokes occasionally, has a healthier constitution, higher blood pressure then her sister, good eye sight and is left-handed.
 
The twins differing in health patterns present a mystery. Why did one become ill with childhood disease, like measles for example, while the other did not? The measles “bug” was in both of their bodies in their collective bloodstream; so why didn’t both get measles?
 
Evidently there is more to “getting the measles” than having the measles “bug”. This phenomenon was seen over and over again with the girls (flu, colds, and other childhood diseases were all experienced separately.) If germs alone had the power to cause infectious diseases, why would one of the twins be disease-free while the other was ill?  What was it in their makeup that differentiated one from the other?
 
The answer was not far to seek. Although Masha and Dasha had common circulatory, digestive, excretory, lymphatic, endocrine and skeletal systems (they were joined at the hips), they had separate spinal columns  and spinal cords. This was the only important difference between the two girls.  Brings to light just how important a properly functioning spine and nerve system truly is.