Utility of middle finger length in stature estimation among Maharashtrian students at S. R. T. R. Government MedicalCollege, Ambajogai, Dist. Beed, in Maharashtra, India

Abstract

Introduction: Establishing the identity of person is very essential for the Forensic investigation. Moreover, the work gains importance while dealing with mass disaster or examining mutilated and commingled body parts or dismembered body parts.For the medico legal experts to identify a body, stature is an important component.So in the present study an effort has been made to study correlation between stature and middle finger length using appropriate statistical methods. Aims and Objectives: To establish correlation between stature and middle finger length and also to derive regression formulae to indicate relationship between stature and middle finger length. Material & Methods: The present cross sectional study consists of 240 medical students between the age group of 18-25 year at SRTR GovernmentMedical College, Ambajogai, Dist. Beed, Maharashtra, India. We measured stature and middle finger length of study subjects with the help of stadiometer and digital vernier calliper. Results:Proportion of variance (r2) and p value for stature and middle finger length in males, of right and left side were 0.2642,0.0001 and 0.2686,0.0001 respectively (Table 5). While the similarly estimated values in females were 0.1827,0.0001 and 0.1824,0.0001 for right and left middle finger respectively. Regression equations of estimation of stature in male was6.443×RMFL+118.7 for right middle finger and 6.473×LMFL+118.56 for left middle finger length.While in female regression equation was 5.589×RMFL+114.18 and 5.621×LMFL+114.10 for right and left middle finger. Conclusion: Stature and middle finger length of both the hands shows positive strong correlation so that forensic experts can estimate the stature with the help of middle finger length. Keywords: Forensic Investigation, Identity, Regression formula, Stature.