Dermatoglyphic abnormalities in the fetal alcohol syndrome.

Dermatoglyphics of 19 male and 23 female patients with fetal alcohol syndrome were compared with those of matched controls. Both male and female patients differed in several of the dermatoglyphic characteristics from their sex-matched controls. The abnormalities of dermatoglyphics reported here constitute a valuable marker trait of the teratogenic effect of the alcohol on fetal development and provide additional diagnostic signs for the fetal alcohol syndrome.