Dermatoglyphics in male catatonic schizophrenics

Dermatoglyphic features, qualitative as well as quantitative, of finger and palm prints of 50 male I. C. D.-9 diagnosed catatonic schizophrenics and as many ethnically matched normal controls of the same sex were examined. Patients were found to differ from the control group in qualitative as well as quantitative features quite similar to the findings of the past three investigators. These differences in the dermatoglyphic features of catatonic schizophrenics and normal controls might be a genetic marker for catatonic schizophrenia. A larger sample study is required to put this hypothesis on strong footing.