Análisis de rugas palatinas en jóvenes pertenecientes a dos grupos étnicoscolombianos

Summary Objective: This study analyzes the frequency of palatal rugae on young scholars of two Colombian populations. Besides determines the variability, the sexual dimorphism and the bilateral symmetry of the palatal rugae. Materials and Methods: A descriptive study analyzes palatal rugae through Trobo’s method in 208 dental casts chosen by convenience, 112 of Cali racially mixed population (46 females and 66 males) with ages between the 10 and 18 years old; and 96 of Colombian Amazons natives (53 females and 43 males) with ages between the 5 and 12 years old. Results: The line, wavy and curve palatal rugae features showed high frequency in both sexes and in ethnic groups. The forms angle and circle showed low frequency. Sexual dimorph and bilateral symmetry were not evidenced. Differences between the distribution of the primary and derivatives palatal rugae according to the ethnic group were also not evident. Conclusions: According to the frequency, shape and disposition of primary and derived palatal rugae, they do not evidence sexual dimorphism and bilateral symmetry. Line, sinuous and curve were the most frequent shapes, for primary and derived rugae. There were no identical rugograms between subjects, which conferes to the rugae the characteristic of unique, then rugae can be useful in forensic identification. Key words: Forensic sciences. Forensic dentistry. Dentistry identification. Palatal rugae. Rugoscopy. Objetivo: En este estudio se analizó la frecuencia de las rugas palatinas en jóvenes pertenecientes a dos grupos étnicos colombianos. Además se determinó la variabilidad, el dimorfismo sexual y la simetría bilateral de las rugas palatinas. Materiales y Métodos: Estudio descriptivo transversal cuantitativo para analizar las rugas palatinas a través del método de Trobo en 208 modelos de yeso escogidos por conveniencia, 112 modelos de yeso de mestizos caucasoides de Cali (46 mujeres y 66 hombres) con edades entre los diez y dieciocho años; y 96 modelos de yeso de indígenas del Amazonas de Leticia (53 mujeres y 43 hombres) con edades entre los cinco y doce años. Resultados: Las rugas palatinas recta, ondulada y curva son las de mayor frecuencia en ambos sexos y en ambos grupos étnicos. Las formas angular y circular son las de menor frecuencia. No se evidencia dimorfismo sexual ni simetría bilateral en las muestras observadas. Así mismo no se evidencian diferencias entre la distribución de las rugas palatinas principales y derivadas de acuerdo al gr