Title: A comparative study on friction ridge pore features of males and females

Authors: C.D. Anjana; C.V. Priyatha; M.S. Siva Prasad

Addresses: Department of Life Sciences, University of Calicut, Kerala Police Academy, Thrissur-680631, Kerala, India ' Department of Zoology, St. Thomas College (Autonomous), Thrissur- 680001, Kerala, India ' Department of Life Sciences, University of Calicut, Kerala Police Academy, Thrissur-680631, Kerala, India

Abstract: The sweat pores on the epidermal ridges of fingertips are unique and they are employed in personal identification. This study aimed to observe and analyse the pores within the left thumbprints of 50 individuals to find out whether there were any sex-related changes in the features of the pores. There was a significant (p < 0.05) difference in the average number of closed pores in males (53.60 ± 40.52) than that in females (81.60 ± 38.43). The average number of pores per 25 mm square was more frequent in females (156.12 ± 68.41) than males (105.12 ± 77.47). The difference in the distribution of pores per 5 mm of ridge length was found significant (p < 0.05) between males and females. The third-level features like type, shape, and frequency of the pores of males and females can be used as a presumptive indicator to determine the sex from fingerprints.

Keywords: fingerprints; poroscopy; AFRS; personal identification; sex difference.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBM.2024.137089

International Journal of Biometrics, 2024 Vol.16 No.2, pp.158 - 175

Received: 02 Feb 2023
Accepted: 10 May 2023
Published online: 01 Mar 2024 *

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