The Frequency of Whorl Patterns on the Fingertip of the Thai, Kinh H’mong Ethnic Students in Thuan Chau District, Son La Province

Abstract

The study was conducted on 784 students aged 14 to 17 (383 male students and 401 female students), who were randomly selected, in Son La province. Following the standards of morphological and anthropological studies, this study aims to investigate the frequency of Whorl patterns on the fingertip of these students. The study shows that the frequency of Whorl patterns on students’ fingertips is 10.89% higher than other types of fingerprint patterns. Whorl patterns are more likely to be found on finger IV with the rate of 15.04% and rarely seen on finger V (7.4%)  in all three ethnic groups (Thai, Kinh, H’Mong). The Kinh ethnic group has a higher rate of Whorl pattern than the other two groups. Moreover, the distribution of Whorl patterns is higher on the right hand than the left hand. The frequency of Whorl patterns on fingertips of all 3 ethnic groups follows the following sequence: Wc> Ws> Wdl> Wcp.