Determination of sex on basis of index and ring finger ratio

Abstract               Background: Sex determination in identification of human remains is one of the most important components in forensic identification and it is a major task in medicolegal investigation. Aim Determination of sex using ring and index finger length and their ratios among adult population. Subjects and methods Present study was carried out on100 indivuals of both sexes. Length of index and ring fingers and the ratios between them were estimated. Results: In females, average right 2DL varied from 57.2mm to 82.65mm (mean 67.26 and SD 4.644) and average right 4DL varied from 59.13mm to 79.29mm (mean 67.32 and SD 4.166). Average left 2DL varied from 58.14mm to 77.7mm (mean 67.42 and SD 4.45) and average left 4DL varied from 59.29mm to 79.24mm (mean 66.69 and SD 4.6). Difference between mean 4DL and 2DL was 0.06 for the right hand and 0.73 for left hand. The significance difference between 2DL and 4DL among sexes is highly significant. In males, average right 2DL varied from 62.8mm to 88.61mm (mean 73.42 and SD 4. 88) and average right 4DL varied from 63.34mm to 88.61 mm (mean 73.94 and SD 4.90). Average left 2DL varied from 65.34mm to 90.17mm (mean 73.93 and SD 4.78). Average left 4DL varied from 63.32mm to 85.10mm (mean 73.98 and SD 5.01). Difference between mean 4DL and 2DL was 0.52 for right hand and 0.05 for left hand. Difference between mean 4DL and 2DL among sexes is highly significant ( p<0.001) Male shows statistically higher values than females for mean 2DL and 4DL in both right and left hands. Conclusion By using the anthropometric measurements of fingers, sex can be estimated with a high accuracy. It is, therefore, an important tool to be included in forensic identification when a hand is detected at the criminal scene and accidents.

Key Word: Human identification, Forensic science, Sex determination, Index/ring finger.