[Mirroring on palmar interdigital configurational areas]

Area of Science:

• Dermatoglyphics
• Human genetics
• Biometrics

Context:

• Palmar dermatoglyphics involves analyzing friction ridge patterns on the palm.
• Understanding bilateral variations in palmar patterns can offer insights into human development and population genetics.
• Previous research has explored sex and population differences in palmar patterns, but bilateral asymmetry requires further investigation.

Purpose:

• To investigate bilateral variance in palmar interdigital configurations among medical students.
• To determine the frequency and distribution of true patterns across different palmar areas (hypothenar, thenar/1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th interdigital).
• To assess differences in pattern frequencies between the left and right hands and identify areas with significant asymmetry.

Summary:

• Analysis of 902 medical students' palmar prints revealed no significant sex differences in true pattern frequencies.
• The fourth interdigital area exhibited the highest overall frequency of true patterns, while the second interdigital area had the lowest.
• Significant bilateral asymmetry was observed, with specific areas (hypothenar, thenar/1st, 4th interdigital) showing higher frequencies on the left hand, and others (2nd, 3rd interdigital) on the right.
• Symmetry was highest in the second interdigital area (98.4%) and lowest in the fourth interdigital area (68.0%).

Impact:

• Provides detailed data on bilateral dermatoglyphic variations in a specific demographic group.
• Contributes to the understanding of normal variations in human palmar configurations.
• Highlights the importance of considering hand laterality in dermatoglyphic studies and potential biometric applications.