DOI: 10.36347/sajb.2019.v07i12.001

Pages: 458-461

Background: This study was aimed at investigating sexual dimorphism in the axial triradii of the Igbo ethnic group. The study was an analytical cross-sectional study in which the volunteers were aged between 18 to 60 years. For the purpose of this study, an individual was considered to be a Nigeria of Igbo ethnic origin if the parents and four grandparents were all Igbo. Materials and Methods: The Cluster sampling method was used for the study. A written informed consent was signed and dated by the proposed respondents prior to the collection of data. A total of 340 subjects (170 males, 170 females) were recruited for the study. The fingerprints were obtained using a print scanner (Hp G3110 Photo scanner). Results and Discussion: The males (n=170) had the following: on the right 80(47.1%) had the t triradii, while 45(26.5%) each had t1 and t2 triradii. Whereas on the left 81(47.6%) had the t triradii, 42(24.7%) had the t1 triradii and 47(27.7%) had the t2 triradii. The females (n=170) had the following prevalence of the triradii on the right: t 77(45.3%), t1 34(20.0%), t2 59(34.7%) while on the left t was 73(42.9%), t1 38(22.4%) and t2 59(34.7%). The prevalence of the different triradii among the study population were thus for the right: t 340(45.3%), t1 79(28.8%), t2 104(25.9%) while the results on the left were as follows, t 154(43.5%), t1 80(29.0%) and t2 106(27.5%). The position of the axial triradii revealed a sexual dimorphism with a higher prevalence in the males than the females with regards to position t and t1 while the females had a consistently higher prevalence of t2 position. Conclusion: The result of this study suggests that in a given population, if gender of an individual is unknown, the knowledge of axial triradii of that population can be used as a guide to gender identification.