title: Diversity of human lip prints: a collaborative study of ethnically distinct world populations.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cheiloscopy is a comparatively recent counterpart to the long established dactyloscopic studies. Ethnic variability of these lip groove patterns has not yet been explored.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study was a collaborative effort aimed at establishing cheiloscopic variations amongst modern human populations from four geographically and culturally far removed nations: India, Saudi Arabia, Spain and Nigeria.
  
  
  METHODS
  Lip prints from a total of 754 subjects were collected and each was divided into four equal quadrants. The patterns were classified into six regular types (A-F), while some patterns which could not be fitted into the regular ones were segregated into G groups (G-0, G-1, G-2). Furthermore, co-dominance of more than one pattern type in a single quadrant forced us to identify the combination (COM, G-COM) patterns.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The remarkable feature noted after compilation of the data included pattern C (a bifurcate/branched prototype extending the entire height of the lip) being a frequent feature of the lips of all the populations studied, save for the Nigerian population in which it was completely absent and which showed a tendency for pattern A (a vertical linear groove) and a significantly higher susceptibility for combination (COM) patterns. Chi-square test and correspondence analysis applied to the frequency of patterns appearing in the defined topographical areas indicated a significant variation for the populations studied.
authors.affiliation: Anatomy, Bharati Vidyapeeth, Dental College and Hospital , Pune , India .
authors.forename: Namita Alok
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Magda Ahmed
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Eldomiaty
authors.forename: Esperanza
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gutiérrez-Redomero
authors.forename: Adekunle Olufemi
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: George
authors.forename: Rajendra Somnath
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Garud
authors.forename: Angeles
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Andrés
authors.forename: Shaima Mohamed
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Almasry
authors.forename: Noemí
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rivaldería
authors.forename: Sami Awda
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Al-Gaidi
authors.forename: Toyosi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ilesanmi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008046:Lip / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012737:Sex Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cheiloscopy; ethnic variations; gender variations; human populations; lip dimensions; lip prints