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NOVEMBER 2, 2008
The simian line: a notorious hand crease!
A historical review from 1906 to 2008 about one of the most fascinating features
of the human hand.
AUTHOR: Martijn van Mensvoort
The simian line is well-known for it's significance in Down's syndrome - a discovery by R.L. Down in 1906 (his father discovered Down syndrome in 1866).
During the 20th century the simian line has been studied in many other perspectives of life. In 2000 a movie titled: 'The Simian Line' was released - inspired by the fact that this notorious line has changed the lives of so many people around the world. What is in 2008 the state of knowledge about the simian line?
1 - HOW TO RECOGNIZE A SIMIAN LINE?
A typical 'simian line' is characterized by the presence of a single line that runs across the palm of the hand.
People normally have three major creases in their palms; however when the simian line is present there are (usually) only two major creases. NOTICE: One should be aware that the simian line can show up in many different manifestations (see the examples below); very often as a partly merging of the so-called 'heart line' (in medical jargon, the: 'distal transverse crease') and the so-called 'head line' (in medical jargon, the: 'proximal transverse crease').
2 - WHY IS THIS LINE CALLED 'THE SIMIAN LINE'?
The name of the simian crease is related to the fact that hands of primates (simians) are often characterised by various horizontal creases which transverse the full primate hand.
So, the word 'simian line' or 'simian crease' stems merely from its resemblance to the palmar creases which are supposed to be found in the hands of primates.
3 - SIMIAN LINE SYNONYMS!
Various names are being used to describe the 'simian line':
simian crease (most often)
single palmar transverse crease
single palmar crease
horizontal palmar crease
transverse palmar crease
single palmar flexion crease
simian fold (less often)
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A basic characteristic of the primate hand is the presence of various horizontal creases which 'transverse' the full primate palm.
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4 - A MILESTONE IN THE HISTORY OF MODERN GENETICS!
After his father described the major characteristics of Down's syndrome in 1866, R.L. Down discovered in 1906 the relationship between the simian crease and Down's syndrome.
This discovery was related to the fact - and one should never forget this fact! - that the human simian crease can be observed in the hands of about 1% of healthy people. 'Healthy hands' with a simian line usually do not have the other stereotypical hand features related related to Down syndrome are missing (examples of other Down syndrome-related hand features are: a short thumb, curved little finger, certain dermatoglyphic patterns in the palm and fingerprints).
In general the percentages of the occurence of the simian line varies among ethnic populations - up to above 10% in Asian population). By the way, the simian crease is bit more frequently present in the left-hand (1.3%) - compared to the right hand (0.8%). R.L. Down described back then that the simian crease is very frequently observed in the hands of people who have Down's syndrome. Since then various research programs have produced results varying from 31% to 86%.
5 - THE SIMIAN IS RELATED TO A 'RAINBOW' OF MEDICAL PROBLEMS!
Next to Down's sydrome, hundreds of research studies have indicated that the simian line can be related to a rich scala of other medical problems. These include various genetic syndromes
(including e.g.: Aarskog syndrome; cat-cry syndrome [related to chromosomes 4p, 4q, 5p], Edward's syndrome [trisomie 18]; fragile-X syndrome [Martin Bell's syndrome], fetal alcohol syndrome, de Lange syndrome; Noonan syndrome; Patau's syndrome [trisomy 13]; Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome; Seckel syndrome; Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome; Warkany syndrome [trisomy 8]; William-Beuren syndrome; Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome; Zellweger syndrome; 18p-, 18q- and 18r syndrome; + many other genetic disorders.) Wrongdiagnosis.com presents a list of 93 causes of the simian crease.
The simian crease has also been related to various (non-genetic) diseases such as:
familial deafness, leprosy, rheumatoid arthritis.
6 - PSYCHOLOGY AND THE SIMIAN LINE!?
Only a few studies have related the simian line with psychological or psychiatric problems. Especially the work of the Polish psychologist Charlotte Wolff can be mentioned here - but one can notice here that Wolff's research results on the simian crease in schizophrenic patients has not been confirmed in later studies.
In another presented - a few years ago first presented at this website - the so-called simian related heart line has been related with the Big Five personality dimension Neuroticism.
Jenifer Boyer presents an overview of how palmists and hand readers interpretate the simian line.
Some common personality features of 'healthy people' who have the simian line are according palmistry authors: 'individualistic and emotional irregular' (chinese palmist Asano), 'highly introspective' (Indian palmist V.A.K. Ayer), 'emotional extremes' (UK palmists Sasha Fenton and Malcolm Wright), 'intense powers of concentration' (Canadain palmist Roz Levin), 'egocentricity' (Indian palm reader K.C. Sen), and 'difficulty in getting along with others' (Malaysian palmist Yaschpaule).
And some hand-experts from the global palm reader network have presented interesting articles on the simian line:
Jena Griffiths presents: The simian crease
Kenneth Lagerstrom presents: The simian line
Larry Rodrigues presents: About the simian line
Lynn Seal presents: About hands: simian line
Batya Weinbaum presents: The simian line
7 - OTHER PROJECTS RELATED TO THE SIMIAN LINE!
Jennifer Boyer presents: The simian line - a website about the simian line!
The simian line - the movie!
The Double Simian Palms
Simian line forum
Simian line holders - another forum!
HAND ANALYSIS | PALM THERAPY
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