Theoretical and observed Frequencies of Fingerprint Pattern Formulae

Abstract

SUMMARYA study was made on the frequency of some dermatoglyphic formulae in a sample of individuals of the population of Montevideo.The theoretically expected frequency of the ten most common formulae was also calculated on the basis of the incidence of each pattern per finger in the same population.The comparisons made between observed frequencies and calculated ones show such large differences that they cannot be attributed to chance.Consequently we conclude that the genetical studies of dermatoglyphic patterns should be made for associations of patterns in two or more fingers or complete formulae rather than for individual fingers.