ABSTRACT
context: The modern sporting world emphasizes the detection and training of the sports talent as early as possible. Dermatoglyphics, the study of patterns in the skin ridges, has been used as a method to identify the medical conditions having a genetic basis. As the dermatoglyphs represent the development of the nervous system, they can be used to identify the innate potential of an individual towards sports. aim: This study attempts to compare both the quantitative and qualitative parameters of dermatoglyphics in sportsmen as compared to the controls. settings and design: A cross-sectional study was carried out at a university in Northern India. materials & method: The digitopalmar prints were taken with the help of Canon Lide 300 flatbed scanner and analyzed using SPSS software ver. 20). results: A predominance of loop patterns was seen in most of the fingers of the sportsmen. It was found that the a-b, b-c and c-d ridge counts of both the left and the right hands were significantly lesser in case of the sportsmen as compared to the non-sportsmen. Also, the ATD angle of the right and the left hands seem to be greater in the sportsmen as compared to the controls which was not significant statistically. conclusions: It can be concluded that dermatoglyphics can be used as a tool to identify the sports talent by studying the characteristics features of the dermatoglyphics in a sportsman. However, further researches are required to strengthen a better understanding of the factors involved in determining the genetic potential of an individual