Abstract
Aim. The study intended to observe the frequency and pattern of distribution of phalangeal hairs on the hands of Ghanaians. Material and Methods. A total of 1040 healthy consenting individuals (529 females and 511 males) aged between 18 and 45 years were randomly selected from the University of Cape Coast Community. Presence or absence of phalangeal hairs was observed with the aid of a pocket lens. Results. Hairs were observed on the proximal phalanges of 98.24% of the males and 96.22% of the females. The most common hair pattern observed on the proximal digits was 2-3-4-5 (65.95% males and 70.32% females). The highest frequency of midphalangeal hairs occurred in the group with hair on the 4th digit alone (3.33% males and 2.27% females) followed by the 3-4-5 group (2.54% males and 1.89% females). Conclusion. Females have lower frequency of phalangeal hairs than males. The outcome of this study may be significant medicolegally and in anthropological racial and gender studies.
Highlights
The hair is an epidermal derivative of the skin which offers protection against mechanical injury in mammals
In their review of the literature on midphalangeal hair distribution, Egesi and Rashid [13] explored the clinical relevance of the trait as a putative marker that will inform clinical treatment of people of different ancestry
The study participants were randomly selected from the University of Cape Coast Community, all of which were of Ghanaian descent
Summary
The hair is an epidermal derivative of the skin which offers protection against mechanical injury in mammals. Of particular interest is phalangeal hair distribution. Danforth [4] pioneered the study of distribution of hairs on the digits of humans and suggested genetic influence. Many investigators have studied phalangeal hair distribution on the basis of gender, race, and ethnicity [5,6,7,8,9]. In their review of the literature on midphalangeal hair distribution, Egesi and Rashid [13] explored the clinical relevance of the trait as a putative marker that will inform clinical treatment of people of different ancestry. A good knowledge about phalangeal hair distribution will help clinicians in tailoring treatment to obtain desired clinical outcome
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