Hereditary trends in parent and offspring fingerprint classes

The global patterns on any fingerprint fall into one of the six common classes; arch, tented arch, double loop, left loop, right loop, and whorl. Though these groupings are not sufficient to effect personal identification but they can be used for group search localization and correlation. 800 fingerprints from 10 fingers of 20 families; Father, Mother, a male child and a female were used for the experiment. Analysis was carried out to determine the level of correlation among fingerprints of parents and their children. The analysis was strictly based on the class group localization and not the minutiae details therein. The test revealed that the children fingerprint class pattern was borne out of combination of class patterns found on both parents. Also whenever there was close relation between parents fingerprint classes, the child - child classes are found to be very close. Based on the result of the analysis, it is possible therefore, to ascertain the true parents of a child by comparing their fingerprint classes rather than going through the trouble of DNA analysis.