Aid for Personal Identification: Stereomicroscopic Morphological Patterns of Lip Print

Abstract

The lip prints being uniform throughout the life and characteristics of person can be used to verify the presence or absence of a person from the crime, provided there has been consumption of beverages, drinks, usage of cloth, tissues or napkin etc., at the crime scene. The objectives of this study were to find out the distribution of different lip print patterns among Myanmar males and females and to determine the relationship between lip prints and blood group. Thin layer of lip-stick was applied on the lips of these subjects. The hinged portion of a folded paper was inserted between the lips and the sub-jects were asked to press their lips onto it. Only middle 10 mm of both upper and lower lips were taken as study area. The lip prints, thus obtained were studied on the basis of Tsuchihashi’s classification. There was significant difference between male and female lip print patterns. Type II was most common in both gender. Type I was more common in male and Type II, III and IV were more common in female. The most common lip print patterns in left lower quadrant was Type III and Type II pattern was most common in other three quadrants. The least common pattern was Type V in all quadrants for both gender. No correlation was found between lip print patterns and ABO blood group system. Lip print pattern can be used as an additional tool for personal identification and gender determination. Further work on the subject can help to make cheiloscopy a practical reality in the forensic identification process.