Estimation of sexual dimorphism using epidermal ridge breadth measurements in Indian population

Sex identification of suspect from crime scene is an important task in forensic science that minimizes the search population of suspects. The applicability of ridge breadth has been observed in vast areas such as biology, medicine, and genetics, it has not gained recognition as other fingerprint characteristics. In recent studies, epidermal ridge breadth measurement hasgained importance to identify the sex of an individual.

Theaim of the present study is to determine if there is a significant sexual dimorphism in ridge breadth that can be used as a tool for narrowing down the investigation process involving an unknown fingerprint.

Fingerprints of healthy males and females from the Indian population were obtained for this study. 50 male and 50 female subjects above 18 years of age were utilized for this study to ensure that the ridge growth has finished. The study was carried on the left and right thumbs and little fingers.

The current studyacts asa supplementary tool for narrowing down individuals from a large sample size for the fingerprint examiners during the investigation. Male and female epidermal ridge breadths were measured using travelling microscope and a significant degree of sexual dimorphism was observed in the ridge breadths.

The results confirm that a significant degree of sexual dimorphism exists in finger ridge breadth measurementsin Left-Little and Right-Little. However, there is no significantdifference in Left Thumb and Right Thumb.