In this study 200 Malay subjects (100 males and 100 females) were randomly selected from patients attending outpatient clinics of Hospital USM, Kelantan, Malaysia, to find out the incidence, density and direction of hair on the dorsum of phalanges of the hand. These features have not been studied so far in females nor has such a study been conducted in Malays. The probability of density of hair distribution among the digits of both hands showed significant correlation on proximal phalanges (p < 0.05) in both sexes. Significant correlation was not observed, however, in the middle phalangeal hair (MPH) of the hands. The direction of proximal phalangeal hair, from little finger to the thumb, showed significant changes from ulnar to radial in both sexes (p < 0.05). Identification of isolated digits, which is of medicolegal importance, would be more accurate if the direction and the density of hair on the digits are both considered together. MPH was present in 48% of males and in 33% of females studied. Comparisons with presence of MPH in other populations show that Malays are ethnically similar to other Asiatic populations.
Study site: utpatient clinics of Hospital USM, Kelantan, Malaysi
618 Malay subjects were selected randomly to find out the frequency and patterns of hair distribution on the phalanges of their hands. Hair on the proximal phalanx was absent in 2% of the males and in 3.3% of the females. The middle phalangeal hair (MPH) was absent in 78% of the females and in 64.9% of the males. The frequency in order of MPH was found to be 4 > 3 > 5 > 2. Fifteen patterns of hair distribution on the phalanges of the hand were found. Such a large number of patterns has not been reported yet. No subject had hair on the distal phalanges. These observations when compared with earlier studies show that the Malays are similar to other Asiatic populations such as the Japanese and Nepalis.
Schizophrenics (n = 250) and normal controls (n = 90) were studied to investigate and compare their dermatoglyphic patterns. Their fingerprint patterns were studied. The frequency of arches in the patient and control groups was similar. The frequency of loops in the control group was higher than in the patient group, and the trend was consistent in all the digits. The whorls in the patient group showed an increase over the control group in all the digits, although this finding was not statistically significant.