Triad of Cheiloscopy, Dactyloscopy, and Blood Groups: Does it Signify Anything?

ABSTRACT

Background:

The knowledge and importance of blood groups emerged from transfusion medicine and its relation with certain malignancies has been proven. Its importance in forensic medicine was brought to light when its association was found with the distribution of finger patterns. Thus, few studies exist proving the relationship between dactyloscopy and blood groups. Cheiloscopy on other hand is the study of the irregularities present on the lips forming a unique arrangement called the prints of the lip.

Aim:

Our paper aims at elucidating any unique combination if any that exists between prints on lips, prints of fingers, and blood grouping in a specific population, which might help in the identification of an individual.

Materials and Methods:

A total of 100 subjects of age varying from 15 to 40 years were included in the study. Subjects comprised of 50 males and 50 females. All the subjects were examined and their prints of lips along with prints of their fingers were taken. Blood groups were determined for each patient using the ABO system.

Results:

Type I was found to be the predominant pattern of lips and whorl arrangement was the most recorded type of fingerprint in males whereas Type II arrangement along with loop prints of fingers was most observed in the case of females. The most common blood group in males was B+ and in females was O+ . Correlation between three parameters was obtained by Pearson correlation statistical analysis.

Conclusion:

The prints of the lips and fingers of an individual have never been similar and they tend to remain the same from a person’s birth until his death. An association between the three things of an individual that is prints of lips, fingers, and his blood group has been tried to be elucidated through the present research to aid in forensic identification.

INTRODUCTION

Every person’s identity becomes unique based on certain features that differentiate him from others.[1] It is highly feasible to use methods of personal identification in solving criminal cases as they are increasing day by day.[2] A person is usually labeled unique by a certain set of physical features, psychological factors, and functional characteristics, which constitutes his identity. In forensic studies, this identical of person is a sinister task that requires a lot of forensic investigations.[3] These findings can help to be used as evidence in court to help in justice and distinguishes between real and false pictures of various crimes.[4] Various methods of identification include measurement of skeletal bones in terms of their sizes, maxillary rugoscopy, DNA analysis, dactyloscopy, determination of gender, age estimation at different ages through different methods, reporting post-mortem results, analysis of blood groups, individual handwriting, and tooth marks.[5-7] An impression of the curves present on the tips of fingers serves as fingerprints. These can be caught on a base or can be captured by taking an impression of fingers on a sheet after applying ink to it. These epidermal ridges are differentiated in their derivative forms in a fetus when it is about three to four months of life after which they remain unchanged until death.[5] Similar to fingerprints, the pattern of ridges of lips is analyzed to use them as a method of identification throughout the globe.[8] Many irregularities present on lips, which are part of the mouth, are characteristically used as lip prints as it is not smooth.[9] The oral cavity being diverse in its presentation offers a multitude of options.[10] At crime scenes, left-out traces of food items or prints on glass items can be caught and used for the identification of the offender.[11] Cheiloscopy is a term that has been used to refer to the study of these lip prints, which are observed in red areas, which is also known as the vermilion zone. They are present as furrows or fissures.[12] This type of presence and usage of such surface aberrations were first of all observed in Poland and USA.[12] These prints on lips were categorized into six types by Tsuchihashi based on their shape and arrangement of depressions.[13,14] Thus, it can be said that similar to prints of fingers, prints of lips can also serve as a method of maintaining it as a record of permanent nature for an individual’s identification.

The blood group of an individual is another feature that remains static once established at birth, which can also serve as a significant record of an individual’s identity. A person can be easily recognized by identifying his blood group from the specimens procured from the crime scene. According to the grouping method for these groups, as given by Landsteiner, these can be categorized into types as ABO groups.[3]

As a person can be recognized by his DNA, the analysis of the same remains a complex, lengthy, and expensive process because of which using easily available alternatives of prints of lips and fingers become methods of profound significance especially in developing regions of the world as well as in remote areas.[3]

Thus, developing these methods and utilizing the correlation between two prints and blood groups can serve as a strong record and means of evidence, which has been done through the present study as well. This work aimed at finding this correlation and applying the same to the recognition of a person in cases of difficulty.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Sample selection

A total of 100 individuals in the age range of 18 to 30 years reporting to S.B. PATIL Dental College, Bidar, Karnataka formulated the study sample. Among these 100 individuals, 50 males and 50 females comprised the subjects of this study. Institutional ethical clearance was taken before the commencement of the work.

Inclusion criteria

Any person who agreed to become part of the study with an age between 18 and 30 years, who had fully preserved lips without any distortions or diseases of the lips, without any changes through cuts or abrasions and any pathology on the fingers of the right-hand thumb was included in this study.

Exclusion criteria

Any person with any kind of changes or derangements over lips, any clefts or scars from trauma or any pathology or lesion, or allergic reaction to materials used for analysis like lipstick, any changes, pathology, or cuts of right-hand thumb was removed from the study.

Methodology

Cleaning of the lips of each subject was done using a swab or sterile cloth piece. Lipstick was then placed over the lips with the help of a lip applicator. Print of the lips was then taken over a cellophane tape by pressing it gently over the painted lips. These were then transferred on A4 sheets. After obtaining this print, an impression of the right-hand thumb was taken for each participant by putting his thumb on a colored stamp pad containing ink. Immediately after this, the record of the print of the finger was transferred to a white A4-sized sheet. If a participant knew his blood group, then that was noted. For participants who did not know their group, the testing of the same was done through a kit for testing ABO blood groups. Immediately after recording, the lip prints and fingerprints were examined on first look. All the taken prints were further analyzed for their accuracy in the establishment. If any print was distorted or was incomplete, the method of printing was repeated until a proper print was established for each person. An interpretation of all these prints was done after the data collection was over. The central part of each print was categorized into six classes, with the help of a magnification mirror. The final print or type was recorded for each person using Suzuki and Tsuchihashi’s classification (1971).[1] Prints of fingers were also categorized into different patterns according to the classification system of same as given by Henry after analyzing them through a magnifying mirror.[7] Blood groups were determined using Landsteiner’s ABO blood grouping system. MS excel sheet was used to tabulate the results which were then subjected to statistical analysis with the help of SPSS software version 20.0.

RESULTS

This study aimed at delineating the correlation between prints of lips and fingers with the blood group of an individual. A total of 100 individuals with 50 males and 50 females were part of this study from whom these prints were taken and blood samples were received. The collected information was then analyzed and the results obtained are as follows [Table 1].

Table 1.

Prints of lips and fingers and blood groups distribution among males and females

Lip pattern				Finger pattern		Blood groups
Type I	Typ e II	Type III	Type IV	Loop s	Whor ls	A +ve	B +ve	O +ve	Ab +ve	B -ve	O -ve
47 (47%)	31 (31%)	20 (20%)	2 (4%)	52 (52%)	48 (48%)	20 (20%)	35 (35%)	36 (36%)	5 (5%)	3 (3%)	1 (1%)

In 100 subjects, Type 1 print for lips was observed in 47 cases, Type II print in 31, Type III lip print in 20, and Type IV lip prints in 4 individuals.

Among 100 subjects, plain loop distribution percentage-wise was observed in 52 cases and whorl fingerprint was observed in 48 individuals.

Among 100 subjects, various blood groups according to their percentage-wise distribution were as follows. O positive blood group was observed in 36 cases, B positive in 35, A positive in 20, AB positive in 5, B negative in 3, and O negative in 1 person.

When prints of lips were correlated with blood group, Type I and Type III patterns of lips were found to be observed maximum among B positive blood group, Type II was found maximum in O positive group whereas Type IV the rarest was seen as equal distribution in A positive and B positive groups [Table 2].

Table 2.

Pattern of lips and blood group distribution in the population

Lip patte rn	Blood groups
	A +ve	B +ve	B -ve	O +ve	O -ve	Ab +ve
Type I	7 (7%)	18 (18%)	2 (2%)	17 (17%)	1 (1%)	2 (2%)
Type II	7 (7%)	8 (8%)	0	14 (14%)	0	2 (2%)
Type III	5 (5%)	8 (8%)	1 (1%)	5 (5%)	0	1 (1%)
Type IV	1 (1%)	1 (1%)	0	0	0	0

Pearson’s Chi-square - 8.061, df - 15, P>0.05

Among male subjects, the Type I pattern for lips, whorl pattern for fingers, and B positive blood group were the most common whereas, among female candidates, the Type II pattern of lips, loop pattern of fingers, and O positive blood group were the most common [Figure 1].

Figure 1.

Prints of lips and fingers and blood groups distribution among males and females

On the correlation of fingerprints with blood groups, it was found that loop fingerprints were observed maximum among O positive blood group. The pattern of whorls in fingerprints was seen maximum among B-positive groups [Figure 2].

Figure 2.

Distribution of finger pattern and blood groups in a population

DISCUSSION

A person can be recognized by the summation of unique traits that define each individual and form a part of his identity. These identification features have a wide range and include mapping the DNA of a person through molecular analysis to gross methods of identification through patterns of prints on fingers and lips. An ideal requisite for any physical trait to offer itself as means of recognition is its ability to establish itself as a permanent record and its uniqueness. Such traits that can be useful and fit well in this requisition are prints of fingers and lips along with a blood group of a person as all of these are unique for every individual and remain static without any change until a person dies. Thus, if a correlation between these three unique features can be established, it can serve as a great means of a person’s identification for which an effort has been made through the present study in a population of the region in Andhra Pradesh. In this study, the distribution of Type I lip prints was more prevalent in males whereas Type II lip print pattern was predominant in females. These findings are different from the previously reported ones where Type I was observed as a predominant print in females and Type III in male candidates.[15] All four quadrants showed the same type of print and were most common among female subjects in another work carried out by Vahanwala Parekh.[16] Different patterns were seen in male candidates for each person.[15] These distinctive findings could be the result of changes in ethnicity as well as variations in different races for prints of lips.[7]

A plain looped pattern in fingers was found to be the predominant pattern in females whereas a whorls pattern in fingers was the predominant pattern in males. These fingers were in corroboration with those reported in previous research studies.[17,18] In any population, the plain loop has been observed as the predominant pattern in fingers followed by the loop pattern in any given population. Similar results have been elucidated in this study. It can be inferred that prints of fingers remain the common trend of presence in populations whereas changes may be seen in patterns of lips. Blood group is another unique attribute of a person, which serves as a significant biological record as no changes in it can be observed in the lifetime of a person. In this study, the O + ve blood group was the predominant group to be followed by the B + ve group. These results were found to be similar to another study done on different populations.[19] Type I and Type III lip patterns were observed maximum in B positive blood group, Type II was found maximum in O positive group whereas Type IV the rarest was seen in an equal distribution in A positive and B positive groups, and no statistically significant difference was found when a correlation of lip prints was done with blood groups. These results were similar to those found in other studies where no statistically significant difference was observed.[13,20] Similarly, the loop pattern was the predominant one in patterns of fingers in cases with the A + ve blood group, which was similar to those found in other studies.[17]

CONCLUSION

From the present study on 100 subjects, it has been shown that among males, the most prominent lip pattern was Type I with the most prominent finger pattern of whorls in blood group B positive. On the other hand, among females, the most prominent pattern of lips was Type II, most prominent pattern of fingers was loops in blood group O positive. This correlation can be an additional factor helping the investigatory process and can also help in forming an imperative tool in the search for the offender. More studies are required to be undertaken with a larger sample size to arrive at more confirmatory results with good statistical significance.

Financial support and sponsorship

Nil.

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.