Lippenfurchen und Hautleisten bei Zwillingen mit Lippen-Kiefer-(Gaumen-)Spalten

In a study of 11 twin pairs (7 monozygotic and 4 dizygotic) with clefts, lip prints and dermatoglyphics were investigated. Most of the lip prints showed paramedian whorl-patterns on the lower lip. The observation of similar results among the patients with lower lip fistulas and regarding the early embryological findings lead to the conclusion that the lower lip fistulas and paracentral whorls may belong to the same graduation scheme. A possible use of these results for the diagnosis of hereditary cleft lips and for assessing the individuals predisposed to this risk has been discussed. The patterns in many regions of palmar and plantar prints which are measurable in part showed greater differences among monozygotic twin pairs who were discordant regarding clefts than among those monozygotic twin pairs who were concordant. These findings could be due to differences in early embryonic differentiation of monozygotic partners and may play a considerable role in the developmental mechanisms of clefts.