A COMPARATIVE STUDY IN DERMATOGLYPHICS OF THE FINGERTIPS IN NORMAL CHILDREN AND CHILDREN WITH DOWN'S SYNDROME IN RIYADH REGION, KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA
Musaad A. Al-Fayez1 , Tahani A. Al-Matrafi1 , Saeed M. Abuel-Makarem1 , Aly M. Ahmed1 , Muhammad Atteya1,2
1Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
2Department of Histology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
Dermatoglyphics is the study of the patterns of the epidermal ridges of digits, palms of the hands, and soles of the feet. According to Galton's 1892 classification distal phalangeal fingertip pattern was divided into three groups: arches, loops, and whorls. This classification was based on the number of the triradii. There were no triradii in a simple arch, only one in a loop, and two or more in a whorl. One of the most important applications of dermatoglyphics analysis is in Down's syndrome (trisomy 21), which was described clinically by Langdon Down in (1866), but its chromosomal nature was first recognized in 1959. Many features of dermatoglyphics characterize Down's syndrome as a marked increase of ulnar loops on all fingertips. Also the radial loops when present, they were found in the fourth and fifth digits. The aim of this work is to establish the frequency of fingerprint patterns in normal and Down's syndrome children in Riyadh region in Saudi Arabia and to study if there is a gender differences in fingerprints in Down's syndrome children. The present study was done on 130 Saudi children (110 Saudi Down's syndrome children and 20 normal children). All children were Saudi natives, including the mother of the child. Fingerprints were taken for the two groups to study and to compare the frequency of fingerprint patterns in normal and Down's syndrome children in both hands. Our study shows that the ulnar loop pattern was higher in Down's children (D=80.1%) when compared to normal children (N=54%) including both hands and in both sexes. Also, it was the most frequent pattern; it ranged from (93%-98%) in the second digit in Saudi Down's children including both hands and in both sexes. The radial loop pattern was almost the same in Down's and normal children (D&N=4%) but in normal children, the frequency of radial loop was observed only in the second digit as it ranged from (15%-28%) in both hands and in both sexes, whereas in Down's syndrome children, the frequency of radial loop was prominent in the 4th and 5th digits. In conclusion, the findings of this study showed an increased ulnar loop frequency in all children with Down syndrome than that of normal children. Also there were no difference in the finger pattern frequencies between males and females in Down's syndrome children.
June 2014