Morphologie 108 (2024) 100701

Disponible en ligne sur

ScienceDirect
www.sciencedirect.com

GENERAL REVIEW

Cheiloscopy: A crucial technique in

forensics for personal identification and its
admissibility in the Court of Justice
R. Bhattacharjee , A.K. Kar ∗
Department of Forensic Science (SOBAS), Adamas University, Barrackpore-Barasat road, 24, Parganas
North, Jagannathpur, 700126 Kolkata, West Bengal, India

Available online 25 October 2023

KEYWORDS Summary In every criminal inquiry, identification is of utmost importance. Cheiloscopy is a

Cheiloscopy; technique used in forensic investigation that focuses on identifying people from their lip prints.
Personal Just like fingerprints, each person’s lip crease pattern is unique. Moreover, Lip prints are seen to
identification; remain consistent throughout an individual’s life. Lip prints can therefore be used to confirm if a
Lip prints; person was at the crime scene or not. Cheiloscopy is used to examine the sulci labiorum, or ‘‘lip
Sex determination; prints,’’ which are the wrinkling and furrows on the labial mucosa that produce a distinctive
Classification; pattern. The current review article focuses on the potential of cheiloscopy as a vital role player
Development; in the process of criminal investigation by detecting and identifying individual(s).
Impression; © 2023 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
Latent prints

Abbreviations Introduction

Criminal investigations are all about identifying the suspect

or the offender specifically. Identity refers to a person’s abil-
ity to be recognized as unique [1]. The use of identification
FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation techniques to determine a person’s identity is one of several
US United States types of expert investigation. The traditional techniques
UK United Kingdom for identifying a person include anthropometry, odontol-
DNA Deoxyribonucleic Acid ogy, sex analysis, age estimation, and distinction based on
STR Short Tandem Repeat blood types, DNA, and fingerprints [2]. Similar to these tech-
niques, human lips identification is an intriguing developing
approach of person identification originating from forensic
and criminal practice. Cheiloscopy is a procedure in foren-
∗ Corresponding author. sic investigation which deals with identifying a person based
E-mail address: [email protected] (A.K. Kar). on their lip prints [3]. The term ‘‘Cheiloscopy’’ is derived

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.morpho.2023.100701
1286-0115/© 2023 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
 R. Bhattacharjee and A.K. Kar

from the Greek words ‘‘cheilos,’’ which means ‘‘lips,’’ and

Table 1 Clauco Martin Santos’s classification of lip grooves.
‘‘skopein,’’ which means ‘‘to see [4].’’ According to the
Federal Bureau of Investigation (F.B.I.) and the Illinois State Simple types Compound types
Police, lip prints are unique to each person and are regarded
as reliable methods of identification [5]. Lip prints are com- Straight lines Bifurcated
mon lines and fissures found in the types of grooves and Curved lines Trifurcated
wrinkles found in the human lip’s transition zone, which Angled lines Anomalous (atypical)
is located between the outside skin or vermilion border Sine shaped lines
and the interior oral labial mucosa [6]. Lip patterns can be
detected around sixth week of pregnancy. Once established,
the lip groove pattern remains unaffected by disease, minor In 1972, Mc Donell discovered that identical twins can
trauma, or infections and does not vary over time regardless sometimes be recognised by their lip prints even when they
of climatic changes [6]. They are often found at the crime are unidentifiable by all other methods, such as ABO Blood
scene on objects like glasses, cups, cigarette butts, tissue Grouping or HLA Testing for Paternity identification. [13].
papers, love letters, etc. Hence, the goal of this study is to Cottone mentioned in his book Outline of Forensic Dentistry
throw some light on the importance of lip prints as one of in 1981 that lip prints represent a very special procedure
the prime evidences which can lead to identify a suspect or used in identification [14]. Cheiloscopic methods had been
criminal. employed in 85 cases between the years 1985 and 1997,
which included 65 cases of burglary, 15 homicide cases, and 5
assault cases [15]. Cheiloscopic procedures were as valuable
History of Cheiloscopy as other forms of forensic evidence in 34 cases where the
identification was successful. After conducting a five-year
R. Fischer, an anthropologist noticed the biological occur- study, Kasprzak commented on the useful applications of
rence of furrow systems on the red portion of human lips cheiloscopy in 1990 [16].
in 1902 for the very first time [7]. The use of lip prints for Studies were conducted in the first decade of the 21st
identification was advocated as early as 1932 by Edmond century by a number of researchers in India and some
Locard, one of France’s most renowned criminologists. In his other nations. Lip prints from diverse population groups
book, ‘‘Homicide inquiry,’’ written in 1950, Snyder claimed were researched for many elements, including stability, sex
that lip prints are just as distinctive as finger ridges [8]. In identification, and distinct anatomical patterns. The anthro-
1960, Dr. Martins Santos suggested these lip traits might be pometric dimensions of the lip before and after fixing were
employed in personal identification and developed a simpli- also examined in a study on the postmortem modifications
fied technique for categorizing lip prints [5]. of lip prints [3].
The first research on lip prints in Europe was conducted
in Hungary in 1961. Lip prints were discovered on a door Various methods of classification of lip prints
at murder scene, which prompted the examination [9].
Japan has been conducting in-depth research on the sub- The initial classification of lip grooves was made in 1967 by
ject since 1950. Kazuo Suzuki and Yasuo Tsuchihashi, two Clauco Martin Santos, professor of forensic dentistry, Fed-
Japanese researchers, had been examining forensic odon- eral University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. His classification
tological relationships between lipstick and the female lips contained two groups having four and three types in Group
prior to Santos’ classification between 1968 and 1971. Suzuki I and Group II respectively [17] (Table 1).
did research in 1967 on how to measure lips, how to apply Suzuki and Tsuchihashi proposed their classification sys-
rouge, and how to get the most usable information out of it tem, namely Tsuchihashi’s classification in 1970. This system
[10]. of classification is most frequently employed in the record-
The grooves in the labial mucosa (labiorum rubro- ing and study of lip prints. On the basis of shape and
rum) were given the name ‘‘sulci labiorum’’ and the lip direction of the grooves, the lip prints were divided into
impressions were renamed as ‘‘Figura linearum labiorum six categories [16] (Table 2 and Fig. 1).
rubrorum’’ by Tsuchihashi and Suzuki in 1970 [11]. A fur- In 1973, Renaud, a French scientist, examined 4000 lip
ther research with uniovular twins was conducted in 1971 by prints and discovered that, with the exception of uniovular
Kazuo Suzuki and Yasuo Tsuchihashi. The lips were separated twins, each was unique. Renaud then classified the prints
into four quadrants, and they created their own category of based on his findings [18] (Table 3).
the six different kinds of grooves. They showed that no two In 1979, Afchar-Bayat classified lip prints on the basis of
lip prints displayed the same pattern and that the lip prints organization of grooves [12] (Table 4).
of uniovular twins were very similar, considering the possi- Kasprzak classified lip patterns into 23 distinct line pat-
bility that either parent could pass on their traits. In 1974 tern features on the red portion of lips [16] (Table 5).
Tsuchihashi’s longitudinal study, which covered 1364 people Lately, the middle 10 mm of the lower lip is employed for
and the groups of family, provided additional confirmation classification [19] (Table 6).
of this [12]. He discovered that over time, the lip prints
remained unchanged. Furthermore, he discovered that a
lip’s groove pattern reappears after healing from trauma or Types of lip prints
injury. According to their research, each person’s lips’ red
section has a unique pattern of lines that are distinctive and There are three possible types of lip prints that might be
unique to them [12]. found at crime scenes [20]:

2
 Morphologie 108 (2024) 100701

Table 2 Suzuki and Tsuchihashi’s classification system. Table 4 Afchar-Bayat’s classification system.

Classes Groove types Classes Groove types

Type I A clear-cut line or groove running vertically A1 Vertical and straight grooves, covering the whole
across the lip lip
Type I’ Straight grooves that disappear halfway A2 Vertical and straight grooves, but not covering the
into the lip instead of covering the entire whole lip
breadth of the lip or Partial-length groove B1 Straight branched grooves
of Type I B2 Angulated branched grooves
Type II Grooves that fork in their course or a C Converging grooves
branched groove D Reticular pattern grooves
Type III An intersected groove E Others
Type IV A reticular groove
Type V Grooves that do not fall into any of the
above categories and cannot be • visible prints —– visible lips prints are left behind as a
differentiated morphologically result of application of lipstick and the lips upon coming
in contact with a surface;
• persistent prints —– persistent lip prints can be described
as marks left on various surfaces by invisible lipsticks.
Magnetic and aluminum powders can be employed to
develop and recover them even after several days of for-
mation;
• latent prints —– latent lip pints are formed due to pro-
duction of oil and moisture from small salivary glands,
sebaceous glands, and sweat glands located around the
margins of the lips.

Collection and development of lip print

evidences

There are numerous ways to collect lip prints from the scene
of occurence [20]:

• if the prints are present on a glass surface, they can be

photographed directly;
• by application of lipstick or lip rouge to the subject’s lips
and then pressing his/her lips to a paper or adhesive tape;
• by using chemicals like Silver Nitrate powder, Silver Metal-
lic powder, Plump Carbonate powder, Aluminium powder,
Cobalt Oxide, etc.;
• lipids are present in all lip prints, facilitating the appli-
cation of lysochrome dyes to create the prints (Sudan 3,
Figure 1 Types of lip groove patterns based on Suzuki and
Sudan Black and Oil Red O).
Tsuchihashi’s classification system.

Collection and development of lip prints from

Table 3 Renaud’s classification system. suspect
Classes Groove Classes Groove
types types Various ways have been introduced to record lip prints from
the suspects [21]:
Type a Complete Type f Incomplete
vertical intersecting • the lips are to be photographed after application of rouge;
Type b Complete Type g Reticulated • they may be photographed, magnified and superimposed
vertical with tracings of the grooves on a flat, non-porous surface
Type c Complete Type h In the form like a mirror;
bifurcated of sword • once lipstick has been applied, the impression should be
Type d Incomplete Type i Horizontal collected on paper until the lipstick runs out;
bifurcated • by applying special type of cream on the lips followed by
Type e Complete Type j Other types its transfer;
intersecting • by making the suspect/subject press his/her lips on a
suitable surface without the application of lipstick and

3
 R. Bhattacharjee and A.K. Kar

Table 5 Kasprzak’s classification system.

Serial no. Features Symbol Serial no. Features Symbol

1 An eye 13 Crossing lines

2 A hook 14 A closing bottom bifurcation

3 A bridge 15 A delta-like opening

4 A line 16 A simple opening

5 A dot 17 A closing top bifurcation

6 A rectangle like 18 A pentagonal arrangement

7 A triangle like 19 A branch like top bifurcation

8 A group of dots 20 A star like bifurcation

9 A simple top bifurcation 21 A fence

10 A simple bottom bifurcation 22 A branch like bottom bifurcation

11 A double eye 23 Double Fence

12 Hexagonal arrangement

• the two sets of lips (evidence print and suspect’s prints)

Table 6 Modern classification system.
can then be compared by using any of these three men-
Groove type Denoted by Condition tioned methods:
◦ common features method,
Linear L If line prevails ◦ photographic montage method,
Bifurcation R If bifurcation is dominant ◦ contour method.
Reticular S If the lines cross
Undermined N If no superiority is established
The Common features method involves recognizing the
distinctive qualities as per Kasprzak’s table as well as the
characteristics that are common in both; the lip print taken
treating the prints either with standard fingerprint devel- from the murder scene and the print recorded from the
oping powder or using a magnetic powder along with suspect. This method is the most basic technique for com-
magna brush. parison [21].
The Photographic montage method involves photographic
In order to keep a permanent record, the prints are either analysis and comparison of lip prints between the one
photographed directly or coated in adhesive tape. obtained from the crime scene and the one collected from
the suspect [21].
Analysis of lip prints In Contour method an impression of the contours of the
most distinctive group of lines on the red portion of lips of
the suspect is taken on a transparent foil. A comparison is
Comparisons can only be made after analysis of the lip-print
made between the group of lines obtained on the foil and
evidence that was successfully obtained. It is necessary to
the lines found on the photograph of lip print clicked at the
analyze both the obtained impression and the suspect’s lip-
crime scene [21].
print sample, otherwise any comparison would be useless.
Currently, various software like Adobe Photoshop® are
In order to analyze the lip print evidence, Suzuki and Tsuchi-
used for convenient analysis [22] (Fig. 2).
hashi created the following methodology [21]:

• the upper and lower lips are divided by drawing a hori- Extraction of biological evidence from lip
zontal line; prints
• the left and right sides are divided by drawing a vertical
line in the middle of the horizontal line; Very often, the grade of lip prints obtained from the crime
• the grooves and wrinkles of the lips are then studied and scene are too poor. They are either blurred or unclear
recorded by applying Suzuki and Tsuchihashi’s classifica- [23]. In such cases it becomes extremely difficult for an
tion method; examiner to carry out cheiloscopic analysis. The lipsticks

4
 Morphologie 108 (2024) 100701

Table 7 Vahanwala and Parekh’s system of classification.

Types of prints Predominant sex

Types I and I’ Female

Types I and II Female
Type III Male
Type IV Male
Type V; varied patterns Male

• types I and I’ patterns are dominant in females in the third

and fourth quadrants, i.e., lower lip;
• type II pattern is common in males in the second quadrant,
Figure 2 Analysis of lip prints using Adobe Photoshop® soft-
i.e., upper lip, left side;
ware (Source: Researchgate; Jeergal et al., 2016).
• individuals with different patterns in all quadrants were
common in males, whereas the females were seen to have
the same pattern in all quadrants (Table 7).
manufactured in the recent years have been upgraded such
that they don’t leave any prints or traces on coming in Theory of heredity of lip prints
contact with items like glasses, tissue papers, clothing,
etc. But the transfer of latent prints is very much obvious
Tsuchihashi conducted an extended research on the heredi-
whenever the lips come in direct contact with such kind
tary principle of lip prints in 1974. After analysing the data,
of aforementioned surfaces. So, in such cases biological
they concluded that no two lip prints displayed the same
evidence is of more weightage. Unclear or incomplete lip
pattern. But in case of uniovular twins, they were found to
prints contain biological traces such as saliva, blood and
be alike [13]. After comparing their prints with their par-
epithelial skin cells [24].
ents, it was found that there was a close resemblance of
According to a research done to determine whether a
prints with one of the two parents, thus making a conclu-
lip-print impression can serve as biological evidence, a sig-
sion that the traits may be acquired from either of the two
nificant amount of DNA can be obtained from a lip-print [25].
parents [13]. These findings strengthened the hypothesis of
The traces of lipstick present on the lip impression does not
heredity of lip prints.
affect the DNA extraction process. Even the chemicals used
for the development of latent prints does not hamper the
extraction of DNA [21]. The research also suggests that the Scopes in cheiloscopy
extraction of DNA from both porous as well as non-porous
surfaces like tissue papers, glasses is fairly convenient [21]. Unless the lip print traces contain a number of distinctive
The DNA analysis determines the full STR Loci (Short Tandem features, such as scars, it is not an easy task to identify
Repeat Loci) of the owner of the lip impression as well as and individualize a person on the basis of lip prints when
the DNA. STR expresses a very high degree of polymorphism. the prints obtained are not clear [27]. In such cases, the
Only a very small amount (5 ng/␮L) of even badly degraded analysis is relied upon the constituents of the traces, such as
DNA may be sufficient for forensic analysis purpose [26]. The biological traces, e.g. saliva, for ABO blood grouping system
research proves that in addition to extraction of sufficient and DNA typing [27]. The DNA typing from the lip traces has
amount of DNA from the lip prints, it is also possible to get a tremendous potential. A lip print discovered from a crime
the complete STR profile of the person [24]. scene has the potential to provide a number of leads, such as
However, the study also poses a number of limitations the nature of occurrence, sex, occupational characters, use
as the lip prints used for the analysis were fresh that were of cosmetics, pathological alterations, etc. [9]. Lip prints
collected and left for about 24 hours only [21]. So, in real are of equal value as compared to fingerprints if clear prints
situations, poor crime scene protection and environmental with identifiable individual characteristics are retrieved.
pollutions may affect the analysis and detection. Also, the
significance of this evidence depends upon the availability Admissibility of cheiloscopic evidences in
of DNA databases. But this study proves that lip prints can
court
be well considered as a vital source of biological evidence
along with physical evidence.
Cheiloscopy is an effective method for determining a per-
son’s identity on the basis of lip traces that can be
discovered at the crime scene and used as evidence against
Determination of sex from lip prints the offender in court. In the forensic community, it is widely
acknowledged that lip impressions are distinctive, similar to
Researches conducted in the early 21st century shows vari- fingerprints, and can be of great use to personally identify
ances in the lip patterns of males and females which a perpetrator in court if no alternative evidence is available
facilitated in sex determination. [28]. It has been determined through cheiloscopic study that
In 2000, Vahanwala and Parekh attempted to categorize lip prints can be included as a kind of evidence in court and
the lip prints on the basis of sex determination [18]: that it is possible to examine these prints [29].

5
 R. Bhattacharjee and A.K. Kar

Yet, because the validity of lip prints has not yet been On 12th of May, 1999, an Appellate Court of Illinois
fully established in the legal system, their use in criminal acknowledged the unchallenged statement of two experts
cases is limited. Lip prints are rarely used in court and are of State Police that, the State Police of Illinois and F.B.I con-
not universally accepted. Even though lip prints have been sider that lip impressions are distinctive and are a reliable
used in court before, their usage is not recognized [15]. form of identification, just like fingerprints [29].
Since 1923, lip prints are accepted in the US courts as Since lip prints have rarely been used in judicial pro-
evidence due to the widespread support of the cheiloscopic ceedings, further research on the use of lip impressions in
identification technique by the scientific society [17]. identification of an individual and criminal investigation is
If the initial image is a straight digital image, many required.
courts, especially those in the UK, dismiss the evidence since
there is no trustable assurance that the digital image hasn’t Drawbacks of cheiloscopy
already been altered with the help of any accessible digi-
tal imaging programmes such as Adobe Photoshop® . The UK
The pattern which gets imprinted in the form of lip impres-
court is adamant about using ordinary images as the basis
sion is located on its vermilion border. Depending on the
for its first records and is willing to consider digital analysis
technique, pressure, and direction utilized to record the lip
of those photographs [30].
prints, their appearance may vary [32]. The amount of lip-
According to South African judicial system, a layperson is
stick used during recording may also have an impact on the
not allowed to produce lip-print evidence in court because
print. Certain clinical disorders, such as Syphilis, Lip Che-
the retrieval, collection and analysis of cheiloscopic evi-
litis, Congenital Lip Fistula, Lip Cheilitis, Lip Scleroderma,
dence is a scientific and sophisticated discipline that needs
Lymphangioma, etc., can render the cheiloscopic investiga-
training and skills [21]. As a result, an expert witness is
tion invalid [33].
required to deliver such evidence in court. While produc-
Lip prints have the exact same issue as fingerprints, that
ing the evidence in court, the expert testimony needs to
they may fade over time and vanish from a specific surface.
fulfill the following criteria [21]:
The following findings were obtained from a study on the
durability of lip prints conducted by Osama, Abdullatif, and
• it has to be proved that the expert witness possesses
Ismail [34]:
expertise, skills and certification and experience in the
field of cheiloscopy and has earlier assisted the court
• lip prints last up to 12 weeks on white paper;
regarding similar issues;
• if lip prints are exposed to environmental conditions, they
• he/she has to be a specialist and professional in relation
can be relied to remain recognizable on glass for up to 6
to the matters on which he/she will testify, particularly
weeks;
the connection of a suspect to a lip impression recovered
• lip prints on glass can remain intact for up to 9 weeks as
from a scene of crime;
long as the glass is preserved in a sealed container as well
• his/her expert opinion should not be based on a hypothe-
as the temperature is maintained at about 25◦ C.
sis. It has to be factual and pertinent to the lip impression
collected and can be explained by other supporting evi-
Lip-print impressions on paper are more precise because
dences cited in the same case.
the grease from the imprint is soaked into the micropores
of the paper, whereas this absorption does not occur when
As there is a difference between the analysis of lip prints
using a non-porous material such as glass [21].
and fingerprints, it is preferable for the experts to undergo
In addition to the aforementioned issues, the most fre-
training in case the lip prints would have to be collected
quently encountered obstacle is the unavailability of ante
by Fingerprint experts. If a lip print is discovered at the
mortem statistics for the lip prints, which is significantly
crime scene in absence of an expert, the print should be pho-
lower than those of finger prints [35]. The presence of ante-
tographed and the print should be collected and preserved
mortem information, which is not expected in cheiloscopy,
in a container for analysis by the expert later on [21].
is the most important feature for odontological identifica-
In 1966, Poland, lip print evidence was testified for the
tion. As a result, the only application of Cheiloscopy is to
very first time in the form of expert witness. In the crime
match the lips to the lip prints that created them.
scene, a lip impression was discovered on a part of glass
window. The expert came at a conclusion that the print
retrieved from the crime scene did not match with that of Conclusion
the print collected from the suspect [9].
Cheiloscopic methods were employed in 85 cases Lip prints are distinct to each individual and remain
between the years of 1985 and 1997, including 65 burglary unchanged throughout a person’s life, making them a poten-
cases, 15 homicide cases, and five assault cases. 34 of the tial tool for identification, along with fingerprints [18].
instances resulted in a positive identification, indicating Cheiloscopy, which involves analyzing lip prints, has the
that cheiloscopic procedures were equally valuable as other potential to determine an individual’s sex and facilitates
forms of forensic evidence. Also, it has been presented as personal identification [29]. It is important to collect both
evidence in court [15]. visible and latent lip prints using appropriate methods.
Lip prints have been examined much more among the There is ongoing research to standardize the analysis of
Japanese population and because of their utility in solving lip prints using biometric systems, which could make them
crimes, they have been added as a source of evidence in the a valuable supplementary tool for identification purposes
court [31]. [36]. Overall, lip prints have great potential in the discipline

6
 Morphologie 108 (2024) 100701

of forensic science. With continuous development in the [2] Gondivkar S, et al. Cheiloscopy for sex determination. J Foren-
field of cheiloscopy, it has the potential to become a stan- sic Dent Sci 2009:56—60.
dard method in crime investigation in the future. Therefore, [3] Venkatesh R, David MP. Cheiloscopy: an aid for personal iden-
it is recommended that lip print records be maintained for tification. J Forensic Dent Sci 2011;3(2):67.
every individual, similar to fingerprints, and included in den- [4] Koneru A, et al. Comparison of lip prints in two different
populations of India: reflections based on a preliminary exam-
tal records as a component of ante-mortem data for future
ination. J Forensic Dent Sci 2013:11—5.
identification purposes. Lip prints can provide important [5] Dineshshankar J, et al. Lip prints: role in forensic odontology.
evidence in identifying suspects and victims and can be a J Pharm Bioallied Sci 2013;5(Suppl. 1):S95.
valuable resource in forensic science investigations. Cheilo- [6] Harish D, Nigam M. Forensic medicine.
scopic studies have determined that further researches can [7] Fonseca GM, et al. Lip print identification: current perspec-
pave the way for lip prints to be used as a more crucial tives. J Forensic Leg Med 2019;65:32—8.
evidence for identification of a perpetrator in the court of [8] Sharma NA, et al. Diversity of human lip prints: a collaborative
justice. study of ethnically distinct world populations. Ann Hum Biol
2014;41(6):568—78.
[9] Prabhu RV, et al. Cheiloscopy: revisited. J Forensic Dent Sci
Author’s contribution 2012;4(1):47.
[10] Bodkha P, Rajamohan N. Efficacy of cheiloscopy in deter-
The original concept and design of the study are formulated mination of sex among South Indians. J Clin Diagn Res
by A.K.K. The drafting, writing portion and retrieval of the 2013;7(10):2193.
literature is initiated by R.B. The reviewing and final revi- [11] Kumar A, et al. Importance of cheiloscopy. Int J Oral Care Res
sion of the draft are done by both the authors. The overall 2016;4(1):48—52.
[12] Kannan S, et al. Cheiloscopy—–A vital tool in crime investiga-
coordination and writing are supervised under A.K.K.’s guid-
tion. Int J Forensic Sci Pathol 2015;3(3):89—93.
ance. Both the authors have read and approved the final [13] Kundu S, et al. Cheiloscopy—–A diagnostic and deterministic
manuscript. mirror for establishment of person identification and gender
discrimination: a study participated by Indian Medical students
Ethics approval and consent to participate to aid legal proceedings and criminal investigations. J Exp Clin
Anat 2016;15(1):31.
[14] Verma P, et al. Correlation of lip prints with gender, ABO
Not applicable. blood groups and intercommissural distance. N Am J Med Sci
2013;5(7):427.
Consent for publication [15] Reddy LVK. Lip prints: an overview in forensic dentistry. J Adv
Oral Res 2011;2(1):17—20.
[16] Saraswathi T, Mishra G, Ranganathan K. Study of lip prints. J
All the authors of this publication gave their consent.
Forensic Dent Sci 2009:28—31.
[17] Herrera LM, Fernandes CMS, Serra MC. Human identification by
Funding means of conventional and digital Cheiloscopy: a study of the
literature. RGO Revista Gaúcha de Odontologia 2013:113—20.
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding [18] Vahanwala S, Parekh B. Study of lip prints as an aid to forensic
methodology. J Forensic Med Toxicol 2000;17(1):12—8.
agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
[19] Sivapathasundharam B, Prakash PA, Sivakumar G. Lip prints
(cheiloscopy). Indian J Dent Res 2001;12(4):234—7.
Disclosure of interest [20] Prabhu RV, Dinkar AD, Prabhu VD. Collection of lip prints as a
forensic evidence at the crime scene—–An insight. J Oral Health
The authors declare that they have no competing interest. Res 2010;1(4).
[21] Welgemoed M. Lip prints: the underestimated identifiers in the
combat against crime. Obiter 2019;40(2):281—306.
Acknowledgements [22] Prabhu RV, Dinkar A, Prabhu V. A study of lip print pattern in
Goan dental students—A digital approach. J Forensic Leg Med
The author is thankful to Ms. Ankita Das and Ms. Adity Dey for 2012;19(7):390—5.
their support. The Author is also thankful to Ms. Radha Patel [23] Prabhu RV, Dinkar A, Prabhu V. Digital method for lip print
and Mrs. Chitrita Chakraborty, Assistant Professor, Depart- analysis: a new approach. J Forensic Dent Sci 2013;5(2):96.
[24] Sharma P, et al. Can lip prints provide biologic evidence? J
ment of Forensic Science, Adamas University, Barasat for
Forensic Dent Sci 2016;8(3):175.
their unconditional and timely support during the entire [25] Castello A, Alvarez M, Verdu F. Just lip prints? No: there could
study. be something else. FASEB J 2004;18(6):615—6.
A special thanks to Dr. Rupam Sen, HOD of Department of [26] Lee VM. Recovery and typing of DNA from lip prints. University
Forensic Science, Adamas University, Barasat, for giving the of California, Davis; 2009.
opportunity to work on this topic. [27] Kasprzak J. Possibilities of cheiloscopy. Forensic Sci Int
1990;46(1—2):145—51.
[28] Prints L. Ref: Petersen, LC. Lip Prints (thesis submitted to the
References National University, La Jolla, CA, USA, March 2006 for Master of
Forensic Science). Anil Aggrawal’s Internet Journal of Forensic
[1] Buckingham D. Introducing identity. MacArthur Foundation Dig- Medicine and Toxicology, 2009; Volume 10, Number 1 (January-
ital Media and Learning Initiative; 2008. June 2009). J Forensic Med Toxicol 2009;10(1).

7
 R. Bhattacharjee and A.K. Kar

[29] Sharma P, Saxena S, Rathod V. Cheiloscopy: the study of lip [33] Sansanwal, M., et al., Cheiloscopy—–An approach for personal
prints in sex identification. J Forensic Dent Sci 2009:24—7. identification and sex determination.
[30] Kaushal A, Chhabra P. Cheiloscopy—–An important technique in [34] Mishra P, et al. An overview of chelioscopy & palatoscopy:
forensic science for identification: a review. Indian J Forensic an aid in forensic investigation. Int J Nursing Didactics
Med Toxicol 2022;16(4):7—11. 2015;5(6):4—10.
[31] Osterburg JW, Ward RH. Criminal investigation: a method for [35] Kumar L, et al. Forensic anthropology-lip print pattern in North
reconstructing the past. Routledge; 2010. Indians; 2017.
[32] Sonal V, Nayak C, Pagare S. Study of lip-prints as aid for sex [36] Kaul B, et al. Forensic odontological parameters as biometric
determination. Med Leg Update 2005;5(3):93—8. tool: a review. Int J Clin Pediatr Dentistry 2021;14(3):416.