Genetic studies in varicocele infertility. II: Dermatoglyphic pattern

The prime concern of the present work was the analysis of dermatoglyphic patterns in infertile patients presenting with clinically detectable varicocele. In a controlled study conducted on 30 patients and utilizing a slight modification of the original ink method of Cummins and Midlo, the dermatoglyphics on terminal phalanges of the thumb in both hands showed significantly higher incidence of the whorl pattern. Likewise, the index finger in both hands exhibited higher incidence of both the whorl and double loop patterns. Other patterns on the fingers, the plamar creases, axial triradii, hypothenar and thenar eminences, and angle and total ridge count did not alter significantly. Such characteristic dermatoglyphic patterns in varicocele infertile men may furnish additional evidence in support of a genetic cause for varicocelogenesis and its associated gonadal dysfunction. Furthermore, it may provide a prognostic preoperative screening method for varicocele infertile patients.