Diversity of topological palmar patterns in Iranian populations.

The bilateral palmar prints of 3,158 females and males from 13 Iranian populations of diverse origins were analyzed to see how well topological palmar pattern frequencies reflect population distances. The results showed bimanual variation among most of the populations studied. Sex variation showed significant differences among all of the populations studied. Distance analysis and constructed dendrograms showed separation between the populations studied. These distances were frequently in agreement with the known ethnohistoric background of the populations studied. The male data gave better results. It appears that topological palmar patterns are a better indicator of population distance than topological finger patterns.