Determination of Sexual Dimorphism from Fingerprint Ridge Density Among Indian Tamil Ethnic Group: A Forensic Perspective

Fingerprint evidence is one of the most reliable biometric tools in forensic identification due to its uniqueness and permanence. Fingerprints are frequently encountered at crime scenes in both partial and complete forms. An emerging morphological feature of interest is fingerprint ridge density, defined as the number of ridges within a specified area of the fingerprint. The present study aimed to evaluate sex-based differences in fingerprint ridge density across three anatomical regions of the fingerprint: Radial (R), ulnar (U), and lower (L) in the Indian Tamil population. The study was conducted on 274 individuals (137 males and 137 females) aged between 18 to 60 years. Fingerprints were collected from all 10 fingers of each participant. Ridge density was measured in three defined regions of the fingerprint: R, U, and L areas. Statistical analysis was carried out using the independent t -test to compare ridge density values between males and females in each region. The findings revealed that females exhibited significantly higher ridge density than males across all three regions of the fingerprint. Among the studied regions, the L area demonstrated the highest mean ridge density, followed by the R and U regions. These differences were consistent across both hands and all fingers, although slight variations were observed in a few anatomical areas. Overall, the results strongly indicated the presence of sexual dimorphism in fingerprint ridge density. The study concludes that fingerprint ridge density is a reliable morphological parameter for sex differentiation in the Indian Tamil population, with females consistently showing higher ridge density than males. The L region of the fingerprint was found to be the most dependable area for distinguishing sex.