Sexual dimorphism in the lip size and finger pattern by digital method- A cross-sectional study

Background: Human lips recognition is most intriguing and growing method in human identification. The lip prints are unique among individuals and shown to have a prospective role in sex identification. The fingerprints of an individual can be used in instances like criminological, civil cases due to their inimitable property for absolute identity. The study aims to identify fingerprint pattern and lip size for identification of gender.Methods: This study involved 100 dentistry students from our college (50 male and 50 female).The thumb, lip photos were recorded by using a digital camera. The lip size was calculated by using Adobe photoshop software. The fingerprints patterns were by read by using the classification given by Michael and Kucken's.Results: Males had more lip length and width when compared to females which are statistically significant(p=0.000). The predominant fingerprint pattern in the entire study was loop (67%) followed by whorl (23%) and then arch (10%). The arch pattern of fingerprint showed a statistical significance between males and females (p=0.008).Conclusion: In the present study, lip length, lip width and fingerprint pattern showed a significant difference in males and females which can be used to determine an individual's gender. Moreover, employing digital method in analysing the fingerprints and lip-prints is very convenient in terms of accessibility and storage.Keywords: Cheiloscopy; Forensic identification; Lip size