An Overview of Fingerprint Patterns among Students of Gandaki Medical College, Pokhara, Nepal

Introduction: Fingerprint system of positive identification is based on the principle that the arrangement and distribution of fingerprint re­mains constant and persists throughout life and that the patterns of no two hands resemble each other. Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out among 250 students (125 male and 125 female students), aged 17 - 40 years of age, of Gan­daki Medical College, Pokhara, Nepal from 15 March to 13 April, 2017 A.D. The fingertip patterns of both hands were collected and identified with the aid of a magnifying glass and documented as: Loops, Whorls, Arches and Composite type. The data were enrolled in SPSS version 16 and analyzed accordingly. Results: There was a preponderance of loop pattern (52.6%) followed by whorls (39.4%), arches (7.3%) and composite (0.6%). Whorls (41.7%) were more common in males compared to females (37.1%) and females had more arches (9.6%) compared to that of the male counter­parts (5.04%). There was no significant difference in fingerprint pat­terns among male and female students. Conclusion: The predominance of loops amongst other fingerprint patterns along with no significant gender differences in fingerprint pat­terns can be considered as a valuable research finding in the field of forensic science.