Professor Alison Bashford and old, labelled, depiction of parts of the hand. Photo: Supplied
Peering at the lines of the hand in order to predict the future, or reveal more about a person's character, is an ancient practice that has ebbed and flowed throughout history.
And while palmistry is now more of an entertainment - it's also been inextrictably intertwined with medicine.
That path from chiromancy - or hand reading - in late medieval times, to modern genetics, has been charted by historian Alison Bashford.
She reveals how signs on the hand - its shape, lines, marks, and patterns - have been elaborately decoded over the centuries.
Her fascination with chiromancy was sparked when she came across a handprint of a gorilla that had died in
London Zoo in the 1930's among papers held in a London library.
Alison Bashford is a Laureate Professor of History at the University of New South Wales and her book - Decoding the Hand - explores the boundaries between science, mythology, magic and medicine.
Decoding The Hand: A History of Science, Medicine, and Magic is published by The University of Chicago Press
