A dermatoglyphic investigation of selected skin disorders

Abstract

This investigation involved the study of qualitative and quantitative digital and palmar traits in patients with various selected skin disorders and normal control subjects. The collection of 3,030 sets of finger and palm prints was carried out. For each set of prints, 135 discrete variables were measured and recorded. The data obtained by this procedure was then subjected to computer aided statistical analysis. The material is presented in the thesis in the following way:-In Chapter One a brief introduction to the theory and history of dermatoglyphic studies is presented along with information concerning the nature of epidermal ridges and their mode of development. A brief description of the skin disorders studied is given in Chapter Two. For each disorder the clinical presentation, aetiology, incidence, pathology and genetics are described. Chapter Three consists of a review of previous research into dermatoglyphics in skin disorders. Chapter Four contains a description of the standardized method used for obtaining the digital and palmar prints. Information about the various sample groups of subjects which were printed is given here. Details of the method of examination of the prints and of the variables measured are also provided. The various forms of statistical analysis applied to the data are described in Chapter Five. The variables computed from the original data, descriptive statistics, univariate and multivariate analytical procedures are explained in detail. In the next two chapters the results obtained for the main sample of common skin disorders are presented. Chapter Six contains the results for variables on the fingers and Chapter Seven consists of the results for palmar variables. The results of the three smaller studies of rare skin disorders are presented in Chapter Eight. In Chapter Nine the overall conclusions related to the original aims and objectives of the study are presented and discussed. Finally, a critical appraisal of the study is carried out and suggestions are made for improvements and further investigations.