Incidence of finger pattern types and pattern intensity in a Spanish population (Tierra de Campos).

The incidence of finger pattern types and the pattern intensity distribution in a Spanish sample (417 males and 416 females) drawn from the geographical area of Tierra de Campos have been studied. Sexual and bilateral differences for both dermatoglyphic traits were explored by means of chi 2-test and Mann-Whitney U-test, showing significant differences in all cases, excepting the sexual difference between left hands for pattern intensity. Kolmogorov test for distribution normality showed that pattern intensity was not normally distributed, being the distributions right skewed because of the low frequency of classes with fewer triradii. The results obtained in Tierra de Campos were compared with those observed in other Spanish and Portuguese populations, showing more heterogeneity in the pattern types than in pattern intensity. This could imply that arches account for the main source of variation between populations. Moreover, pattern type frequencies and pattern intensity in Tierra de Campos are, as expected, within the variation ranges of Southeuropean-Mediterranean populations and Caucasians as a whole, although the incidence of radial loops is located in the lower extremes of the corresponding variation ranges.