Sexual dimorphism of left thumb prints and their relationship with Palmprints, among two ethnicities of North India

The thumb prints and palm prints share same properties of uniqueness and permanence so their relationship can be used as conclusive evidence to identify an individual. In present work, an attempt has been made to explore the frequency distribution and sexual dimorphism of left thumb prints and determine their relationship with palm print patterns among two ethnicities of North India.

This cross-sectional study sample was consisting of left thumb and palmprints of 600 medical students belong to Bania and Jat Sikh communities (300 each) of Punjab, Male female ratio was 1:1. These prints were recorded by the ink and roller method. Mainly four types of thumb prints (Whorls, Loops, Arches & Composites) were found and palmprints were classified according to Wu et al. Chi square test was used to see the association between thumb and palmprints.

The study strongly revealed the sexual dimorphism in the frequency distribution of Left thumbprints as whorl pattern was more prevalent in females while Loop pattern in males. The correlation between left thumb and palmprint patterns showed that the whorl pattern was significantly associated with category 4 and Loop pattern was with category 5 in Bania community and Jat females.

Significant sex dimorphism and population variations were found in the present study. Hence it supports the hypothesis that a correlation between thumb prints and palm prints would be a supportive tool for sex determination and identification.