ABSTRACT
Background: Fingerprints and palmprints form avaluable physical evidence in the scenes of crime.Palmprint ridge density is a vital tool used for personidentification during forensic investigation. Palmprintsare found impressed on the surface when a persontouches a surface. Aim and Objectives: This researchwas aimed to investgate the ridge density on six areas ina palmprint on both sides among Malaysian Tamils forperson identification. Material and Methods: Thisstudy sample consisted of 280 adult Malaysian Tamilsincluding140 males and 140 females. By inkingtechnique 560 palmprint samples were collected fromthe subjects for sexual dimorphism analysis. The sixprominent areas on the palmprints were chosen thatincluded Thenar region (P1), Hypothenar region (P2),Triradius of second digit (P3), Triradius of fifth digit(P4), Triradius of third digit (P5) and Triradius of fourthdigit (P6) for examination. Results: The resultsrevealed that the mean palmprint ridge density wassignificantly greater in females (10.26-12.03) thanmales (9.57-11.26) in all the designated areas (P1 toP6). The ridge density in the left hand was not themirror image of right hand, showing the bilateralasymmetry. Conclusion: The study findings revealedthat palmprint ridge density was sexually dimorphicamong Malaysian Tamil population.