Digital Dermatoglyphic Patterns Of Annang Ethnic Group In Akwa Ibom State Of Nigeria

Abstract

Digital dermatoglyphics has been found useful in forensic medicine and identification purposes. It is useful in medical diagnosis of genetically inherited diseases and in detection of crimes. Anthropometric studies of the digit, palm and feet provides data that reveal the relative distribution of dermal ridges among people in different geographical zones. Cross-sectional study was carried out using 200 males and 200 females healthy volunteers of Annang ethnic group in Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria to establish their digital dermatoglyphic traits. This was done by counting and classifying their ridge pattern configurations of arches, loops and whorls. Ulnar loops were the most predominant digital pattern in females (50.1 percent) than in males (39.6 percent), followed by whorls (42.9 percent) in males, then arches (31.1 percent) in females and radial loop (2.1 percent) in males. The sex differences between these patterns were statistically significant (chi2 equal to 154.569; d.f