A photo from open sources
“One of the chapters of the book of Job speaks of a certain seal, lying on the hands of every person. But who is the first time and when became interested in these peculiar “signs of fate”? Hard to tell. It is only known that a keen interest in prints fingers originated in the East.
In any case, a print is kept in one of the American museums. thumb on a Chinese clay seal dated III century BC. Replaced their signatures with fingerprints and in ancient Babylon, and in Egypt, and in Assyria, and in India. No wonder in Sanskrit language two essentially different concepts, “print” and “print fingers, “united by one common word.
It turns out, back in those times so remote from us, to someone managed to notice how dissimilar these signs are to each other – and this dissimilarity has become a “sign” of man. Began long before was recognized as a phenomenon of science, and entered into it in 1926 at annual session of the American Association of Anatomists Self a branch of knowledge called dermatoglyphics.
The complexity and originality of papillary lines intrigued such colossal thoughts like Aristotle, Paracelsus and Newton. And palmistry – prediction of fate on the skin relief of the palms – he practiced more ancient Greek philosopher Anaxagoras. In medieval Europe, the state Palmists existed at the court of any monarch. And it happened that the palmist also held the position of astrologer, since the western version of palmistry is closely connected with astrology.
Evidence of this is the names of various lines and bulges. in the palm of your hand: line
The sun, say, portends a happy fate and wealth; line Mars is very rare, but if it does, it’s a sign of such a life force that, contrary to even a broken line life is able to provide its owner with longevity; down the hill Mercury is judged on talents in science, art, commercial affairs; Hill Venus is love, sensuality; lunar elevation – romance and … volatility; Jupiter’s hill – ambition, power. I wonder if this hill was developed by Napoleon? .. No information on this account did not survive. And is it worth it to deal with such historical excursions just to reveal how most of the postulates of palmistry do not correspond reality. It is enough to make sure that people have one and of the same age, who died on the same day, the lines of life are different lengths. ”
However, do not be too arrogant and skeptical about a cousin of dermatoglyphics, although it is not based on, of course, no scientific foundation. “But was there any scientific base, for example, among alchemists? They spent in vain decades of labor in search of the “philosopher’s stone”, which turned out to be a myth. But the idea the interconversion of metals – inherently deep scientific – became a reality in our atomic age. So are palmists amidst a mishmash of mysticism, superstition and quackery carried grains of life experience, which is still waiting for its scientific explanations “- these are the words of the head of the Department of Biology of Minsk Medical Institute I. S. Guseva acquire programmatic meaning in relation to dermatoglyphics – a science called upon to answer finally, why did people stare so closely at the drawing for centuries palms. Judge for yourself, since papillary lines are unique and able to help accurately name their owner, why are they unable to characterize its physiological and psychological features? After all, sometimes even a cursory glance enough to recognize the hand of a blacksmith or violinist. But it again but amateurish observations, lying, so to speak, on surface. But what do they still say about this specialists?
From a conversation with Tatyana Dmitrievna Gladkova, senior scientific employee of the Research Institute and Museum anthropology of Moscow State University, the author of the book “Skin patterns of the hands and feet of monkeys and man. ”
– Take a look at your palm … See these clear deep furrows and on the fingers between the phalanges too? However, it’s more correct to call them flexion folds of the brush. Each of us also appears. until birth and remain unchanged all my life, except for a minor exception. For a specialist engaged dermatoglyphic studies, flexion folds – its kind of topographic milestones, so necessary in the study of cutaneous relief. For example, a thumb fold, in a semicircle covering the small pillow at its base (“line of life”). In the center palms, obliquely from the gap between the large and the index fingers – a five-finger fold (“line of the mind”). Try to bend fingers – middle, ring and pinky. See how clearly manifested opposing transverse three-finger fold (“line heart “). It is possible to note the median longitudinal fold (” line fate “) and carpal (” bracelet line “). Now pay attention to a lot of barely noticeable skin scallops, all covering the entire palmar surface. This is the very same papillary lines (from the Latin “parsha” – papilla) that serve object of dermatoglyphics.
Their device is clearly visible in the figure reproducing the structure scallop skin.
What is the purpose of skin scallops? According to some scientists, being arranged in rows, they help us hold objects, not letting them slip out of their hands. However, here’s the curious thing: “scallop skin” is more than smooth, rich in sensitive nerve endings. In this case, perhaps, it is the scallops do our palms owe special sensitivity to touch? There are also such a point of view.
By the way, is it not because of the almost unlimited variety of skin patterns that it reflects one of the aspects of our personality – the dissimilarity of tactile perceptions? And this is extremely important, because speech It’s about one of the ways to know the world around us. May be, it is appropriate to recall here that Aristotle averted touch a special role, considering it even as the basis of intelligence.
But you ask, who is still right? Apparently, this is the same case when both those and other researchers are right. Scallops perform, as it were, a dual function: both mechanical and tactile.
In 1823, Czech biologist Jan Purkinje published a detailed study of the skin and eyes, where a separate chapter devoted to the study of skin relief of the palms. He even first tried to classify finger patterns.
Yes, do not be surprised, despite the individual identity skin relief, it contains certain types of patterns, which allows to divide all people living on the globe into special groups.
However, more than one decade passed before dermatoglyphics developed as an independent scientific discipline before in numerous experiments and observations it was possible to verify and confirm God knows when the assumption has arisen: drawing on palms are purely individual for each of us and with age not is changing. It is this constancy of papillary lines, coupled with their the uniqueness allowed forensics at the end of the 19th century use fingerprints as the main evidence for identification of the criminal.
The first evidence-based classification of finger patterns proposed in 1892, the famous English scientist Francis Galton. True, a little later changed by himself and his followers, it still remains relevant. At the heart of her four types of papillary patterns: arc, loop, curl and complex pattern. Moreover, apart from, of course, all kinds of variations and additional details. It’s enough, for example, to say that some forensic specialists consider certainly the configuration of the pattern, and its size, and direction, and combination with other patterns, and various intermediate forms.
The types of patterns are distributed around the globe, not haphazardly, but with a certain pattern. So, for example, they clearly differ in different races – loops in European nations are more common than in Mongoloids. As well as in men and women – in the latter. Prevail arcs. “This is an indication that papillary patterns are genetically are caused and are one of the signs of heredity. But where genes are located that are responsible for the individual structure of the skin The picture, unfortunately, is not clear. Perhaps this is a whole group of genes, located on various chromosomes, including sex chromosomes X and U. I’m probably not mistaken if I say that the new era in dermatoglyphics was discovered by the American scientist Harris Wilder.
Perhaps he can rightly be called the ancestor ethnic dermatoglyphics. It was he, having spent many years on the study of skin relief in different human races, established racial differences in the direction of lines and in the pattern of skin combs on palms. Of course, this does not mean that looking at the palm of the first a specialist, easily and accurately determine him race and nationality. Identify these features can only be in significant in volume of samples, and from different populations, for only large racial groups.
So, for example, among the peoples of Europe, North Africa, Asia Minor, Caucasians of India and Americans of European descent loop are more common curls. And in Europe, the percentage of curls increases from north to south and from west to east.
Returning to the Weidzer, it should be noted that his methodology used only until the end of the twenties. At this time he led a group of researchers, which included American scientists Harold Kammis and Charles Middle. They managed to develop Wilder’s ideas, and the new methodology they have proposed has long become a guiding tool for all specialists involved in dermatoglyphics.
Since the twenties of the XX century, regularly published extensive information on dermatoglyphics of different peoples of the world, maps of the distribution of arcs, loops around the globe are compiled, curls and complex patterns. And although they still sin many white spots, this discipline is already firmly included in the number sources attracted by anthropologists in the study origin and settlement of races, as well as individual nations. By more among the many morphological features in dermatoglyphic obvious advantages as the most ancient, hereditarily stable and not changing with age.
I’ll tell you about only one study conducted on the territory of Hungary Tatyana Dmitrievna Gladkova and Hungarian anthropologist Tibor Totom.
As you know, in the ethnic history of the Hungarian people The role played by migrations that took place during the era of the great migration peoples. Who just did not visit the Hungarian plain in different historical times – Celts, Goths, Huns, Avars, Slavs! .. In IX century of a new era in the Tisso-Danube region migrated Finno-Ugric tribes of the Magyars (Hungarians) who left their ancestral homeland, located probably in the South Urals. All these tribes settled on the territory of modern Hungary, leaving traces in ethnic composition and appearance of the population.
Dermaglyphic studies have shown that in general Hungarians are within the variability of Caucasoid peoples. But on some impurity “Mongoloid” was found in the northeast. Cross similarity, mosaic and scattered features, found on the skin patterns of Hungarians, to some extent, seem to reflect a complex historical formation process anthropological type of the Hungarian people.
From anthropology of dermatoglyphics boldly throws the bridge to medicine, thereby further strengthening the many links between these two areas of knowledge about man. I have already said that palm drawing is not an arbitrary game of nature. Scientists have come to conclusion: these are conditional signals of genes responsible for the formation of organism. It is possible that they store the key to solving many hereditary diseases. Is it any wonder that changes in papillary drawing are carefully examined now experts from many countries on issues of medical genetics and dermatoglyphics are defended candidate and doctoral dissertations. Here is just one of them –
“Dermatoglyphics of the indigenous population of the Yakut ASSR and relations with some diseases common on its territory. ” The author of this work Tatyana Olegovna Zhilenkova says:
– Since the middle of the last century, hard things have been known in Yakutia the disease is Vilyui encephalomyelitis (VE). Spreads disease in certain areas of the Yakut ASSR and only in the Yakuts. This circumstance prompted the study of renewable energy not only doctors, but also other specialists, including anthropologists. The problem was further complicated by the fact that in the same place, in Yakutia another chronic disease of the central nervous system is hereditary cerebellar ataxia (NMA). And for some to clinical manifestations, both ailments are extremely similar. It was clear to differentiate: where is which?
And it succeeded. (Add: after painstaking and time-consuming work – the whole dissertation Zhilenkova replete with puzzles, Of course, for the uninitiated, formulas, tables and graphs. No wonder, a huge number of patients were examined and members of their families, as well as a control group of people not exposed this disease and not having a kinship with the sick.)
Fortunately, discrepancies in the palmar relief in patients with RE and NMA turned out to be so striking that they allowed to distinguish with success both ailments. So, for example, until recently it was believed that on the so-called cerebellar form is found in the north of Yakutia chronic EB. Now it’s clear: RE is not here at all, but is common NMA.
And another conclusion: the structure of the papillary pattern in patients with intramuscular and healthy is very different, which is consistent with ideas about the hereditary nature of the disease. As for renewable energy, here in compared with healthy, such differences were not found, rather, they were, but so mosaic that they did not give a clear answer to a question about the nature of the disease. However, some general trends in the spread of individual signs of skin relief in groups patients, their relatives, as well as healthy people testify nevertheless, the presence of a genetic background in this disease. Not It’s possible that the origin of renewable energy is related to the environment, more precisely, with excess or deficiency in soil, water and products nutrition of individual chemical elements and compounds. Deviations in the intake of substances necessary for the body for many generations and apparently led to a high hereditary sensitivity of the local population to defeat this a disease.
So, there is still reason to talk about the relationship between skin patterns and diseases that occur before or during the appearance skin scallops. (I note in passing that this is happening on the most early stages of embryo development, at least pads on palms begin to appear at a time when he has not reached another twenty-five millimeters of length ‘) Once again, a reservation: differences dermatograms of patients from the norm should be considered only as a general direction, trend, or something, characterizing the group as a whole. Does this mean that when examining a specific patient to a doctor do not pay attention to his palms at all? Of course not. Dermatoglyphics must be considered, but only in combination with other indicators currently available to medical genetics for the early diagnosis of hereditary diseases.
So, hereditary diseases caused by quantitative or qualitative abnormalities in the chromosomes, entail significant deviations in the papillary structure and even in the flexion grooves or creases. However, the connection between the flexion folds and health status has been established so far only in two cases. First – when on the fold between the second and third phalanges of one or a few fingers instead of two, only one curved line. it indicates any hereditary deviation from normal development. The second case is transverse, so called the four-finger line (CPL). It happens to be located where there is usually no crease, between known lines “mind” and “heart”, and both of these lines in this case are absent. I must say that this line has been known since ancient times and many nationalities, many beliefs are connected with it. In West Java, for example, believe that the left hand with this line has magical powers. Therefore, local residents do not beat their children with their left hands, fearing as if the child after such a punishment did not get a fever. At some eastern peoples, the hand with the CPL, on the contrary, is considered happy: she portends a newborn boy in the future high position. According to Western palmists, this line indicates great willpower and perseverance.
why the NPL is formed, it is still unclear – in all likelihood, this is due to various reasons, and sometimes a whole range of them. But scientists have noticed: it is really quite common with a serious hereditary disease – Down’s disease, characterized by slow physical and mental development, and also reduced vitality.
So far it has been a matter of very serious genetic defects on chromosomal level and no less serious hereditary diseases, they called up. But, you see, these are not so common damage, and to diagnose a disease like Down’s disease, it is not necessary to examine the patient’s hand.
It’s probably more important to study minor mutations, causing easier hereditary changes, but causing a predisposition to various diseases, such as schizophrenia, epilepsy, diabetes, psoriasis, congenital glaucoma, color blindness and others.
Now scientists are scrupulously studying the “writing” of the hand with these and many other ailments. Interestingly, in recent years, several groups of scientists in the USSR, Japan and the USA simultaneously and independently from friend established the following curious fact: in patients with heart attack heart or coronary heart disease more often than others, there is a pattern of papillary lines such as curls. And not so long ago Indian doctors have reported yet another pattern. Researchers from the Indian Center for Gastroenterology at Hyderabad University led by Dr. S. M. Habibul decided compare fingerprints and palms of ninety ulcer patients duodenum and a control group of sixty four healthy. When processing the data, it turned out that some characteristic fingerprints can serve as markers genetic tendency to peptic ulcer.
In essence, there is a known logic to this dependence. If at all of the listed diseases are hereditary predisposition, then why between the genes causing disease, and those that define a unique palm pattern, can not be communication? It is possible that some of them will turn out to be located even in the same territorial areas DNA
So, for example, it has recently become clear the red hair gene “anatomically” interwoven into a gene encoding obesity.
Source: “Interesting newspaper. The world of the unknown” No. 7
DNA Time Life India Yakutia
