title: Morphologic patterns of lip prints in a Portuguese population: a preliminary analysis.
abstract: Lip prints are thought to have the ability to distinguish individuals and, hence, have a potential use in human identification purposes. However, questions remain regarding their utility for sex determination. This study aimed to classify lip prints for different individuals in a Portuguese population and to determine whether sex differences exist. Lip prints of 25 females and 25 males were obtained using dark-colored lipstick and cellophane tape. Lip prints were analyzed using a magnifying lens and classified according to the Suzuki and Tsuchihashi classification. A Type II pattern was found to be most common. A comparison of lip-print patterns between males and females showed results with a statistically significant difference: Type III pattern was most common in males, and a Type II pattern in females. This study corroborates the hypothesis that lip prints are able to distinguish individuals and may be useful in sex determination.
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina Dentária da Universidad do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Vírginia A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.forename: Inês M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Caldas
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003358:Cosmetics; D005260:Female; D005553:Forensic Dentistry; D006801:Humans; D008046:Lip / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D008297:Male; D011174:Portugal; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D003358:Cosmetics