Diversity of Finger Patterns and Its Indices among Muslims of Daman and Diu, Western India

The human body is covered with hairs and sebaceous glands except the palmar and plantar regions which are continuously corrugated with narrow ridges. Dermatoglyphics is considered to be one of the important as well as interesting branches in present study of highly developed science and technology. The value of Dermatoglyphics has been increased in clinical investigations with rapid growth in human genetics and with the discovery of chromosomal aberration in man. It can be used as a tool of differentiation between twins and in disputed paternity. Besides this, the finger patterns show variations among different populations and between the sexes in the same population. Hence it play many important roles in various fields since the fingerprints are always unchangeable. The purpose of the present study was to know the variations in the finger pattern among the males and females of Muslims of Daman and Diu and to compare present population group with the neighboring population of Gujarat and Maharashtra. Thus, on the basis of the parameters studied and compared, it can be summarized that Muslims of Daman are closer to the neighboring population of western India.