A Comparative Study of Palatal Rugae Patterns among Igbo and Ikwerre Ethnic Groups of Nigeria: A University of Port Harcourt Study

Background. Palatal rugae pattern of an individual is species specific and is said to be as unique as finger print. Aims and Objectives. The aim of this study was to identify and compare the rugae pattern of Igbo and Ikwerre populations in Nigeria for human identification purposes. Materials and Methods. The present study was conducted from random sampling of University of Port Harcourt students. A total number of 140 subjects (70 Igbos and 70 Ikwerres) of age bracket of 18-30 were used. Results. The different shapes of rugae were obviously observed with varying degrees of predominance among the two tribes. The most predominant patterns are wavy and curvy followed by straight. The Igbos were predominantly wavy while the Ikwerres were predominantly of curve and straight patterns. The Igbo males and females had more wavy pattern with percentage values of 51.6% and 59.9% which is significantly higher in proportion (P < 0.05) as compared to the Ikwerre males and females with percentage values of 35.6% and 40.6%. On the other hand, Ikwerre males and females proved to be curve dominant with percentage values of 45.2% and 34.4% and this showed significant difference in proportion (P < 0.05) as compared to the Igbo males and females with percentage curve values of 27.9% and 26.1%. Conclusion. The result obtained from this study is clear evidence of ethnic differences in relation to sex; hence the incidence of predominance is population dependent.