Rare Patterns of Finger and Palm Prints in Anorexia Nervosa

Introduction It is well known that in anorexia nervosa (AN), relapse and mortality rates are extremely high, but that early diagnosis and treatment generally leads to good prognosis. With that in mind, and because of the clear genetic contribution to anorexia, we studied whether women diagnosed with AN are characterized by distinctive finger and palm prints. What is the rationale for this approach? First, the rather odd word of dermatoglyphics means literally skin carving. It is the scientific study of the ridges and creases on fingers and palms (toes and soles), and a branch of physical anthropology, medicine and genetics. The interest in the fine ridges and creases is probably as old as humanity itself, but dermatoglyphics is far removed from the popular image of fortune-tellers uttering mysterious incantations in an arcane language. It is generaly accepted that the scientific study began in 1823 with the thesis of the Czech biologist Joannes Evangelista Purkinje. He was the first to systematically classify the varieties of patterns of the fingers. This important scientific landmark was followed by the publication in 1892 of Francis Galton's "Finger Prints", a volume that dealt with morphology, classification, inheritance and racial variation. The work of the anatomists Harold Cummins and Charles Midlo also constitute a milestone since they organized all the material on the subject available at that time and contributed a substantial number of studies of their own (Cummins and Midlo, 1943/1961).