Familial dermatoglyphic analysis in syndactyly type I.

A familial dermatoglyphic study of 25 syndactyly type I patients and 53 unaffected first-degree relatives showed a significant increase of complex fingertip patterns in the patients and in their relatives as well. An embryonic link between the formation of complex fingertip patterns and syndactyly type I is postulated. The study contributes new data on the hereditary transmission of syndactyly type I which cannot be used for individual genetic counseling. Calculation of the recurrence risk is difficult in view of the reduced penetrance of the gene.