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Lip prints in personal identification

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 ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Lip Prints in Personal Identification
Suman Jaishankar1, Jaishankar N2, Shanmugam S3
1
Professor
Department of Oral Medicine & Radiology,
KSR Institute of Dental Science & Research,
KSR Kalvi Nagar, Thiruchengode, Tamil Nadu.
Pin: 637 215
2
Professor,
Rajah Muthiah Dental College & Hospital,
Annamalai University,
Chidhamabaram.
3
Professor
Ragas Dental College & Hospital,
Uthandi, Chennai.
Address for correspondence:
Suman Jaishankar, M.D.S.,
Professor,
Department of Oral Medicine & Radiology,
KSR Institute of Dental Science & Research,
KSR Kalvi Nagar, Thiruchengode, Tamil Nadu.Pin: 637 215
Ph: +91- 9443432230
E-mail: sjjsin@yahoo.co.in
Introduction:
The word 'Forensic' is derived from the latin word,
'Forensis' which means the art or study of public. The word
science can be defined as a / systematized knowledge
through study using the scientific method. It is a knowledge
ascertained by observation and experiment. Forensic
science refers to the area of endeavour that can be used in a
judicial setting and accepted by the court and the general
scientific community to separate truth from untruth1.
Identification of an individual, living or dead is
based on the theory that all individuals are Unique.
Personal identification is becoming increasingly important
not only in legal medicine but also in criminal investigation
and identification and in Genetic Research. Cheiloscopy is
a forensic investigation technique that deals with the
identification of human based on the lip prints 2.
Anthropologists first noted the biologic
phenomenon of systems of furrows on the red part of
human lips. R.Fischer was the first to describe it in 1902.
Until 1950, however, anthropology merely mentioned the
existence of furrows without suggesting a practical use of
the phenomenon. Since 1950 the Japanese have carried
out extensive research in the matter. Based on the research
Abstract:
Background
Personal identification is becoming increasingly important
not only in legal medicine but also in criminal investigation and
identification. Cheiloscopy is a forensic investigation technique that
deals with the identification based on lip traces. Based upon the
research it was established that the arrangement of lines on the red
part of human lips is individual and unique for each human being.
The aim of this study was to assess the distribution of
patterns of lip prints among males, females, twins and to evaluate the
uniqueness of lip print pattern.
Methods
The study group comprised of 180 individuals from Govt.
Model Higher Sec School, Chennai, which also included 10 pairs of twins.
Lip print patterns for the study were obtained using a lip stick
and an adhesive tape. Patterns obtained were transferred on to the pro
forma sheet for analysis.
Results
The results of the study revealed that the lip print patterns
for each individual were unique and there was no peculiar pattern
distribution among male and female subjects.
Conclusion
Since the lip print patterns are unique, lip print analysis can
be considered as a tool for personal identification.
done by two Japanese Scientists Y.Tsuchihashi and T.
Suzuki, it was established that the arrangement of lines on
the human lips is individual and unique for each human
being. This statement led to the conclusion that there is a
possibility of using the arrangement of furrows (or a trace in
a linear form) on lips for the identification of a person2.
Studies have demonstrated that even in twins, whose
pattern is somewhat similar, no two Lip prints are identical
in detail 3.
The objective of this study is to assess the
distribution of lip print pattern among males and females
and to evaluate the lip print patterns for their uniqueness.
Materials and Methods:
180 individuals from Govt. Model Higher
secondary school, which also included 10 pairs of twins,
were taken up for assessing the pattern of lip prints. Those
individuals with developmental deformities of the lip,
chapped lips or any previous surgery involving the lips were
not taken up for the study.
Individuals selected were 80 males & 80 females and 10
pairs of twins (all were females). Individuals were grouped
into 5 groups as follows,
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Lip Prints in Personal Identification Suman Jaishankar, Jaishankar N & Shanmugam S

Group I - 20 females and 20 males of age below 5

years
Group II - 20 females and 20 males of age between 6
and 10 years
Group III - 20 females and 20 males of age between 11
to 15 years
Group IV - 20 females and 20 males of age below 16 to
20 years
Type II - A branched groove
Group V - 10 pairs of twins
Lip prints were obtained by using a lipstick and an
adhesive tape. Lipstick / was applied to upper and lower
lips in one stroke. Individuals were asked to relax without
stretching their lips. Two adhesive tapes, one each for upper
and lower lip, 2-3 inches in length were taken and gently
applied over the lips without any pressure so that the lip stick
pattern was transferred to the adhesive tape. The pattern of
each lip is obtained separately and removed which was
then pasted in the proforma sheet for analysis, which was
done using an illuminated magnifying lens.
Employing the dental formula generally used, the
lip was divided into 4 quadrants and the type of pattern was Type III - An intersected groove
recorded based on the classification by Tsuchihashi4, which
is as follows,

Type IV - Grooves form a network

Type I - A clear-cut groove running vertically across the lip.

Type V - The grooves do not belong to type I - IV

and cannot be differentiated morphologically

Type 11 Partial length grooves of type I

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Lip Prints in Personal Identification Suman Jaishankar, Jaishankar N & Shanmugam S

RESULTS: (Tables 1 to 3)
The lip prints obtained from each individual was
carefully examined with an illuminated magnifying lens and
checked for the pattern. The lip print pattern was marked
based on the classification described.
The Lip Print patterns obtained from the group of
individuals were unique for each individual. Every quadrant
in each individual did not have only one pattern in them but
appeared to have a mixture of different patterns, which was
revealed on closer inspection with a magnifying lens.
However, only one pattern was seen in one
quadrant in 22 cases out of which 6 were males and rest 16 I I I
were females that also included one individual among the I IV I I IV I IV III IV II III
10 pairs of twins. One pattern was seen in 2 quadrants in 3 II II I I II II II IV IV I III
cases, which were all females. The most predominant
pattern occurring alone is I1 (in 10 cases) followed by III (in
7 cases) and finally II (in 5 cases). Apart from these 22
individuals, all others had a mixed pattern in each
quadrant. Even in these 22 cases the other quadrants other
than those with a single pattern had a mixed pattern.
Same pattern were present in two quadrants in
about 52 females & 38 males and in 3 quadrants in about
13 females & 8 males and all the four quadrants have same
pattern in 2 cases, both were females. The female group
mentioned above also included the twins.
Even though, the lip print patterns showed dissimilarity
from each other it cannot be used as identification tool for sex
determination, as a particular pattern is not specific to any sex or
any quadrant in a particular sex.
Thus, based on the findings from the lip print
patterns from the individuals it gave a clear indication that a I I
specific lip print pattern is unique for each individual. I II IV IV III II I III IV IV III II
II II III I II III II I I II II

I I
I I II II I III IV
I I
III I IV IV III I
Discussion:
Human identification is a mainstay of civilization
and the identification of unknown individual always has
been of paramount importance to society. The identification
of a missing individual can aid tremendously in the process
of grief resolution by family and friends. The traditional
methods for personal identification include anthropometry,
fingerprints, sex determination, estimation of age,
measurement of height, identification with a specific
individual, and differentiation by blood groups. These
methods have proven successful in many cases. There are
many other methods of personal identification other than
those traditional methods. Lip Print Pattern and
Radiographic configuration of Frontal Sinus are one among
II II III IV III II IV II
the other methods, which can be used as an aid in personal
III II II II II III
identification because of their Uniqueness. These two
methods of identification can be compared with the validity of
dactyloscopic examination as said by J. Kasprzak 5.
Cheiloscopy refers to the utilization of lip prints as
means of personal identification in much the same manner
as fingerprints.

JIADS VOL -1 Issue 4 October - December,2010 |25|

Lip Prints in Personal Identification
In this study 180 individuals were taken,
comprising of 80 males and- 80 females who were divided
into the age group of below 5 years, age group between 6
to 10 years, age group between 11 to 15 years, and age
group between 16 to 20 years, each group consisting of 20
individuals. The rest 20 individuals were 10 pairs of twins.
Analysis of lip print patterns mostly, did not consist
simply of one type of pattern alone but appeared as a
mixture of varying types. This is in correlation with the
findings of Y.Tsllchihashi4 and the pattern was unique to
each indi vidual.
It is said that lip print patterns could be influenced
by hereditary factors, some of which were found by the
study of twins. In twins the characteristics are inherited from
either the father or the mother. The effect of age and
seasonal influences on the groove pattern remains a
problem which needs further study6
Comparison of lip print patterns among 10 pairs
of twins revealed that they were not absolutely identical.
Furthermore, the dissimilarity in the details of the figura
even in the twins whose pattern duplicated signifies a
powerful basis to suppose that the lip print has absolute
dissimilarity. This finding is consistent with that of
Y.Tsuchihashi. 4, Cottone J.A., and Standish S.M., 3.
In this study, lip print patterns were analyzed for
distribution of any peculiar pattern in relation to the age
group or sex of an individual and were found that there was
no such distribution.
From the above findings, it can be inferred that a
particular Lip Print Pattern are unique to an individual.
(Cottone J.A. & Standish S.M.3, Y.Tsuchihashi4, J.Kasprzak5,
K.Suzuki and Y. Tsuchihashi6 )
Summary and Conclusion:
Identification of an individual, living or dead is
based on the theory that all individuals are unique. When
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Suman Jaishankar, Jaishankar N & Shanmugam S
an unidentified body is found, it is assumed that it could be
anybody. By classifying the individual into characteristic
groups (Ex: age, sex, race, height etc.,) the possibilities are
narrowed. As more unique characteristics are noted, the
comparison group becomes smaller until it reaches unity.
At that point, identification can be made. Modern day
criminal investigation has reached a point of sophistication
requiring the involvement of many disciplines to solve a
crime. Each discipline solves a part of puzzle until it is
complete. It is important to understand what each forensic
expert has to offer.
In this study, analysis of Lip print patterns revealed that,
v They were unique for each individual.
v Every individual did not have a particular pattern in
them in a particular quadrant but appeared to have a
mixture of different patterns.
v No particular pattern was specific to any sex or any
quadrant or any age group.
v Lip print patterns were found to be unique even in twins.
In conclusion, it can be said that the Lip print
Pattern can be used as additional weapons for personal
identification because of their uniqueness.
References:
1. O'Shaughnessy PE. Introduction to forensic science. Dent Clin North Am.
2001; 45(2):217-27.
2. Reidar F. Sognnaes. Forensic Stomatology. N Engl J Med. 1977; 296:79-85.
3. Cottone J A and Standish S M, Outline of forensic dentistry Chicago, III:
Year Book, Whole Medical Publishers 1981 :135.
4. Tsuchihashi Y. Studies on personal identification by means of lip prints.
Forensic Sci. 1974;3(3):233-48.
5. Kasprazak J. Possibilities of cheiloscopy. Forensic Sci Int. 1990; 46: 145-
151.
6. Suzuki K and Tsuchihashi Y. Personal identification by means of lip print. J
Forensic Med. 1970; 17(2): 52-57.
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