Adermatoglyphia

Adermatoglyphia is characterized by the absence of ridges on the skin's pads of the fingers and toes, as well as on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. These ridge patterns (called dermatoglyphs) form whorls, arches, and loops that serve as the foundation for each person's unique fingerprint. Fingerprints have long been used to identify individuals because no two people have the same patterns. People with adermatoglyphia, on the other hand, lack these ridges and thus cannot be identified by their fingerprints. Because affected individuals have had difficulty entering countries that require fingerprinting for identification, adermatoglyphia has been dubbed the "immigration delay disease."

Adermatoglyphia can occur in some families without any other signs or symptoms. In others, a lack of dermatoglyphs is associated with other characteristics, most of which affect the skin. Milia, or small white bumps on the face, blistering of the skin in areas exposed to heat or friction, and a reduction in the number of sweat glands on the hands and feet are examples. Adermatoglyphia is also a feature of several rare ectodermal dysplasias, such as Naegeli-Franceschetti-Jadassohn syndrome/dermatopathia pigmentosa reticularis, which affects the skin, hair, sweat glands, and teeth.