Publication details
Variations in count and width of the human middle phalangeal hair: A microscopic study
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2021 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Anthropological Notebooks |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | URL |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5812129 |
| Keywords | middle phalangeal hair;androgens;microscopy;hair shaft width;2D:4D ratio |
| Attached files | |
| Description | The aim of the present pilot study was to analyze human middle phalangeal hair (MPH) size at a microscopic level and to study relationships between MPH and prenatal androgens through a statistical combination with a 2D:4D ratio, which have not been studied so far. The pilot sample consisting of 28 volunteers (16 males) was subjected to hand scans, counting their MPH numbers and collecting hair samples. The MPH widths were measured at the microscopic level, and their variations related to sex, body side, ?nger and the 2D:4D ratio, as measured based on the hand scans, were studied by means of a linear mixed-effects model. In the 3rd and the 4th ?ngers, we found signi?cant sex differences with higher counts in males, and signi?cant asymmetry in the counts in males with higher counts on the 4th right ?nger. Males had wider MPH shafts than females. In both sexes, signi?cantly wider hair shafts were found on the 4th ?nger compared with the 2nd ?nger. No signi?cant relationship was found between MPH shaft width and the 2D:4D ratio. The present study found that MPH shaft width was signi?cantly different between the sexes and between the 2nd and 4th ?ngers of both hands. |
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