Original Article
Year : 2020 | Volume : 5 | Issue : 2 | Page : 68 - 70
Macrophotography: An Innovative Technique to Study Morphological Variations of Lip Patterns
Dhruv Patel, Harsh Jadav, Gargie Rampurkar, Abraham Johnson
Department of Forensic Odontology, School of Forensic Science, National Forensic Sciences University, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India
Address for correspondence:
Dr. Abraham Johnson, E‐mail: drabrahamjohnson4000@
yahoo.com
Abstract
Background:
In the past, certain morphological traits of the human body such as fingerprints, footprints, iris, gait pattern, voice characteristics, and DNA fingerprinting, etc., have effectively been used in forensic circumstances as well as in the identification of perpetrators. As other features of the human body, the lip also exhibits some individualistic trait and is unique owing to variation in the anatomical structure.
Aim:
The aim of this study was to introduce a new approach for assessing lip patterns using macrophotography and for assessing the lip patterns for sex determination.
Materials and Methods:
The present study was conducted in a total of 200 participants (100 males and 100 females) between 20 and 30 years. The lip patterns of participants were studied under normal conditions using digital macrophotography. The classification scheme suggested by Suzuki and Tsuchihashi was used to classify the lip patterns in the experiment. The lips of each person were divided into four compartments, and the digits “1” to “4” were allocated in a clockwise sequence beginning from the upper right side of the lips.
Result:
The most prominent pattern in the whole sample population was found to be Type I (84 [38.2% followed by Type III (72 [32.7%]), Type I (19 [8.6%]), Type II (11 [5.00%]), Type IV (7 [3.2%]), and Type V (7 [3.2%]). The statistical study of lip prints in relation to sex of an individual was conducted using the Chi-square test, and the value was found to be statistically significant (P ≤ 0.001).
Conclusion:
Cheiloscopy using a macrophotographic technique can be used for individual recognition as lip prints are unique to an individual. Macrophotographic technique allows properly imaging, quickly recognizing, and archiving the permanent ante-mortem record of the lip pattern.
Key Words: Cheiloscopy, digital analysis, forensic photography, macro lens, sex determination
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
How to cite this article:
Patel D, Jadav H, Rampurkar G, Johnson A. Macrophotography: An innovative technique to study morphological variations of lip patterns. Int J Forensic Odontol 2020;5:68-70.
