The Arch Pattern Dermatoglyphics on the Toes of Hausa Ethnic Group of Nigeria

Advances in Anthropology

2013. Vol.3, No.4, 237-239

Published Online November 2013 in SciRes (http://www.scirp.org/journal/aa) http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/aa.2013.34033

Open Access 237

The Arch Pattern Dermatoglyphics on the Toes of Hausa Ethnic

Group of Nigeria

A. D. Abue1*, M. Ujaddughe2, M. T. Kpela3

1Department of Anatomical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Abuja, Abuja, Nigeria

2Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Nigeria

3Department of Anatomy, College of Health Sciences, Benue State University, Makurdi, Nigeria

Email: *andybue30@yahoo.com

Received July 14th, 2013; revised August 16th, 2013; accepted September 13th, 2013

tribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the

original work is properly cited.

Dermatoglyphic has found application in establishing ethnic differences (Harlich et al., 2002). The plantar

Arch pattern dermatoglyhics of the Hausa ethnic group of Nigeria has not been established, and a lot of

work had been done in southern Nigeria. This work attempts to look into the plantar arch patterns of the

Hausas in Northern Nigeria. A cross-sectional survey of 357 subjects was collected from persons who

were truly of the Hausa tribe in Nigeria. 222 of the subjects were males while 135 were females. There

was a significant difference in the plantar arch pattern on both sexes as confirmed by the chi-square test.

There were differences on both feet. The percentage frequency of the arch pattern on the toes was greatest

on the females and on the right toe (63%). The frequency was least on females (9.9%). The frequencies

were greatest on the right toes of both sexes.

Keywords: Arch; Pattern; Toe; Hausa; Nigeria

Introduction

Dermatoglyphic patterns are genetically determined i.e. they

are inheritable. It is believed that they follow a polygenic pat-

tern of inheritance, Adebisi (2008, 2009). Dermatoglyphics has

found application in establishing ethnic differences (Harlich et

al., 2002). The science of Dermatoglyphics involves the study

of epidermal ridges present on the surface of palms, fingers,

soles and toes. The following dermatoglyphic features in Fig-

ure 1 are found on the toes which include:

 Arches

 Loops

 Whorls

Starting with the big toes, the toes are numbered from big toe

(I) to the small toe (V).

Materials and Methods

A total of 357 subjects were collected from persons who are

genuinely of Hausa ethnic group in Nigeria, 222 were males

while 135 were females (Figure 2).

The Ink procedure by Cummins and midlo was used to col-

lect digital prints on the soles; the prints were counted with the

aid of hand lens and classified. The arches frequencies were

expressed in percentages and analyzed.

Results and Discussions

These were the most abundant dermatoglyphics features

found on the toes. They possess no tri-radius. Table 1 shows

that the arches were more distributed on the hallux of the toes.

The percentage frequency showed a significant difference in

both sexes. A significant difference was also observed on the

right and left feet. The percentage of distribution of arches on

the toes was greatest in females and on the right toe. It was least

in females (9.9%) in equal proportion.

ARCH LOOP LOOP WHORL

Figure 1.

Dermatoglyphics patterns on the toes.

Table 1.

Shows percentage frequencies of archs on the toe of hausa ethnic

group.

No. of

Sample I II III IV V

L 222 43.2%36.5% 26.6% 20.3%11.7%

Male

R 222 45.5%29.7% 29.3% 29.3%12.2%

L 135 61.5%41.5% 41.5% 35.6%9.9%

Female

R 135 63.0%50.4% 44.4% 44.4%9.9%

*Corresponding author.

A. D. ABUE ET AL.

Figure 2.

The map of Hausa speaking states in Nigeria.

Table 2.

Shows numerical distribution of arches pattern on the toe of hausa

ethnic group.

No. of

Sample I II III IV V

L 222 96 81 59 45 26

Male

R 222 101 66 65 65 27

L 135 83 56 56 48 22

Female

R 135 85 68 60 60 22

In the males, the percentage frequency was 45.5% on the

right toe. The frequency was greatest on the right toes of both

sexes. It was least on the hypothenar distal of the left toe in

males (11.7%). In females, the percentage frequency was high-

est on the right hallux (63%). It was least on the little toe of

both feet (9.9%). The 3rd and 4th toe had equal percentage fre-

quency on the right foot (44.4%). The 2nd toe had (50%). The

observations in this research tallies with Ekanem et al. 2009 on

the Annang ethnic group of Nigeria. This also tallies with Ig-

bigbi et al. on the Malawians population.

Conclusion

Significant differences existed on both sexes and feet in the

Hausa ethnic group of Nigeria as shown in Table 2 above.

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