Fetal dermatoglyphics

Dermatoglyphic studies were performed on 24 aborted human embryos in whom major chromosomal aberrations had been revealed by amniocentesis. Prints were obtained from the embryos by the Hollister method. An analysis was done using patterns on finger tips and the atd angle was measured in degrees. The Penrose classification was used to describe the locations of the various palm and foot patterns. Twenty-two out of the 24 embryos showed dermatoglyphic deviations that correlated well with the cytogenetic diagnosis. The fetuses had the following disorders: 7 with trisomy 21, 2 with trisomy 18, 2 with trisomy 13, 3 with structural autosomal aberrations and 10 had a sex-chromosome aberration.