~ DERMA         id+ | SKIN in Greek | or
                in lat CUTIS   sug> CUTICLE
~ DERMABRASION  med> PLANNING OF THE SKIN WITH
                     SANDPAPER or BRUSHES
~ DERMATITIS       id+ | INFLAMED SKIN |
~ DERMATOBIA       biol> GENUS OF BOTFLIES WHO LAY
                         EGGS THAT INCUBATE OR PARASITIZE
                   THE SKIN OF MAMMALS INCLUDING MAN
~ DERMATOGLYPHICS  id+ | DERMATOGLYPHICS IS THE STUDY OF
                         GLYPHS ON THE RIDGED or
                         VOLAR SKIN |
     biol> GLYPH or SKIN " CARVING" or
          "CARVINGS" OF THE SKIN " or
     " WRITING ON THE VOLAR or RIDGED SKIN "
     PRIMATES  HUMAN AND NOT and probably
     non primates like RODENTS develop
     DERMATOGLYPHICS traits which reflect
     DEVELOPMENTAL STRESSES OF THE VOLAR SKIN OF
     PALMS SOLES AND DIGITS thus in humans
     PALMS FINGERS and TOES
     THE VOLAR SKIN IS SPECIALIZED AND
     IN PRIMATES IT SERVES TO GRASP  PALPATE etc
     HUMAN VOLAR SKIN MAY BE INVOLUTING SINCE HUMANS
     ARE NOT ARBOREAL AS OTHER PRIMATES ARE
     THE BIOLOGIC EMBRYOLOGIC ANTHROPOLOGIC
     CLINICAL FORENSIC AND GENETIC IMPLICATIONS
     HAVE BEEN FOLDED INTO ONE SYSTEMATIZED AND
     WELL DEFINED SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINE CALLED
     DERMATOGLYPHICS
     FORENSIC METHODS ARE OFTEN CALLED
     DACTYLOSCOPY
     implying AN EMPHASIS ON FINGERTIPS
     note the term DERMATOGLYPHICS WAS COINED BY
          Professor Harold CUMMINS [#] who from his
     YOUTH SHOWED A GENIUS FOR A SUPERIOR UNDERSTANDING
     OF BIOLOGY GENETICS AND DEVELOPMENT IN GENERAL
     CUMMINS ASSISTED IN ESTABLISHING
     FINGERPRINT STANDARDS FOR
     THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION or FBI
     CUMMINS JOINED TULANE UNIVERSITY AND BECAME THE
     YOUNGEST CHAIR OF HUMAN ANATOMY ANYWHERE IN THE USA
     DERMATOGLYPHIC PATTERNS ARE PRESENT IN PRIMATES AND
     MORE RECENTLY WERE FOUND IN RATS AND OTHER ANIMALS
     THE PATTERNS CAN BE PRESENT ON PREHENSILE TAILS
     med> in 1936 Harold CUMMINS [#] in
          Anat Rec 73 pp 407 1939
     reported the UNIQUE AND CONSISTENT
     DERMATOGLYPHIC FEATURES IN PATIENTS WITH
     DOWN SYNDROME
     CUMMINS WAS A PIONEER BY
     POSTULATING A SINGLE PRENATAL CAUSE AT THE TIME WHEN
     THE PREVAILING DOGMA WAS THAT DOWN SYNDROME WAS DUE TO
     MULTIPLE OBSCURE CAUSES
     THE PIONEER OBSERVATIONS BY CUMMINS
     DID NOT ALTER THE PREVAILING MEDICAL VIEWS ABOUT
     DOWN SYNDROME UNTIL 1957 WHEN
     TRISOMY 21 WAS REPORTED BY
     J LEJEUNE [#] WHO SHOWED
     THE PRESENCE OF AN EXTRA CHROMOSOME 21
     NOW IT IS KNOWN THAT AS FEW AS
     5 DERMATOGLYPHIC MARKERS CAN DISCRIMINATE
     OVER 90% OF INDIVIDUALS WITH DOWN SYNDROME
     note IN CONTRAST TO VARIOUS METRIC DEVELOPMENTAL TRAITS
          DERMATOGLYPHIC TRAITS ARE IMMUTABLE
     AFTER THE 12th WEEK OF HUMAN GESTATION AND
     THEREFORE ADULTS OF ANY AGE DISPLAY RIDGE PATTERNS
     THAT MAY OR MAY NOT CORRELATE WITH THOSE OF
     THEIR PARENTS AND SERVE AS INDICATORS OF EARLY GENETIC
     AS WELL AS ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS ON THE UNBORN
               sug> HIEROGLYPH
~ DERMATOLOGY  med> STUDY OF THE SKIN DISORDERS
~ DERMATOME    med>  AREA OF SKIN OR SKIN MAP
                     SHOWING WHICH SPINAL NERVES
               SUPPLY or INNERVATE THE AREA
~ DERMATOSIS   id+ | CHRONIC SKIN DISORDER |
               med> IMPLIES LACK OF INFLAMMATION
~ DERMIS   id+ | generic name for SKIN |
           med> PORTION OF THE SKIN UNDER THE
               DERMIS
~ DERMOID  med> TUMOR SKIN CYST