Lip print pattern among students of the University Of Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Abstract

This study was carried out on150 students (75 males and 75 females) residing in the three campuses of the University of Port Harcourt within the age range of 17-30 years. The subjects encompassed people from different tribes, culture and religion. The lips of the subjects were cleaned properly and a red coloured lipstick was applied on the transition zone of the lips. The lip prints were obtained by making an impression on a white A4 paper in the normal rest position of the lips. A cellophane strip was then stuck over the lip impression on a white A4 paper for permanent  record purpose. The lip prints were studied with the aid of a magnifying lens using a classification scheme that was devised by Suzuki Tsuchihasi (1970). The study revealed that the lip prints of all the subjects were unique irrespective of tribe, culture, religion and race. The most common lip print pattern in both males (33.6%) and females (26.0%) are type II lip pattern and the least common lip print pattern in both sexes are Type I’ pattern (5.3% for males and 5.6% for females). The most common lip print pattern for males in the 1st and 2nd quadrants are Type I while Type II was the most common in the 3rd and 4th quadrants. Similarly, the most common lip print pattern found in females were Type III for the 1st quadrant, Type II for the 2nd and 3rd quadrants and Type I for the 4th quadrant. It was concluded from this study, that every individual has a peculiar lip print pattern and that would be useful in forensic studies.

Key words: Cheiloscopy, Lip Prints and personal identification.