fingerprint | Definition & Facts - Encyclopedia Britannica

fingerprint, impression made by the papillary ridges on the ends of the fingers and thumbs. Fingerprints afford an infallible means of personal ... fingerprint TableofContents fingerprint Introduction FastFacts 2-MinSummary RelatedContent Media Videos Images More MoreArticlesOnThisTopic Contributors ArticleHistory Home Politics,Law&Government Law,Crime&Punishment fingerprint anatomy Actions Cite verifiedCite Whileeveryefforthasbeenmadetofollowcitationstylerules,theremaybesomediscrepancies. Pleaserefertotheappropriatestylemanualorothersourcesifyouhaveanyquestions. SelectCitationStyle MLA APA ChicagoManualofStyle CopyCitation Share Share Sharetosocialmedia Facebook Twitter URL https://www.britannica.com/topic/fingerprint GiveFeedback ExternalWebsites Feedback Corrections?Updates?Omissions?Letusknowifyouhavesuggestionstoimprovethisarticle(requireslogin). 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ExternalWebsites MichiganReachOut-Fingerprinting HowStuffWorks-Science-HowFingerprintingWorks FederalBureauofInvestigation-Fingerprint By J.EdgarHoover • EditHistory TableofContents fingerprintpatterns Seeallmedia RelatedTopics: humanskin criminalinvestigation dactyloscopy Henrysystem latentfingerprinting ...(Showmore) Seeallrelatedcontent→ Summary Readabriefsummaryofthistopic fingerprint,impressionmadebythepapillaryridgesontheendsofthefingersandthumbs.Fingerprintsaffordaninfalliblemeansofpersonalidentification,becausetheridgearrangementoneveryfingerofeveryhumanbeingisuniqueanddoesnotalterwithgrowthorage.Fingerprintsservetorevealanindividual’strueidentitydespitepersonaldenial,assumednames,orchangesinpersonalappearanceresultingfromage,disease,plasticsurgery,oraccident.Thepracticeofutilizingfingerprintsasameansofidentification,referredtoasdactyloscopy,isanindispensableaidtomodernlawenforcement.Eachridgeoftheepidermis(outerskin)isdottedwithsweatporesforitsentirelengthandisanchoredtothedermis(innerskin)byadoublerowofpeglikeprotuberances,orpapillae.Injuriessuchassuperficialburns,abrasions,orcutsdonotaffecttheridgestructureoralterthedermalpapillae,andtheoriginalpatternisduplicatedinanynewskinthatgrows.Aninjurythatdestroysthedermalpapillae,however,willpermanentlyobliteratetheridges. ReadMoreonThisTopic police:Fingerprinting Anthropometrywaslargelysupplantedbymodernfingerprinting,whichdevelopedduringroughlythesameperiod,thoughthe... Anyridgedareaofthehandorfootmaybeusedasidentification.However,fingerimpressionsarepreferredtothosefromotherpartsofthebodybecausetheycanbetakenwithaminimumoftimeandeffort,andtheridgesinsuchimpressionsformpatterns(distinctiveoutlinesorshapes)thatcanbereadilysortedintogroupsforeaseinfiling.fingerprintFingerprintdocument.©Stockbyte/ThinkstockEarlyanatomistsdescribedtheridgesofthefingers,butinterestinmodernfingerprintidentificationdatesfrom1880,whentheBritishscientificjournalNaturepublishedlettersbytheEnglishmenHenryFauldsandWilliamJamesHerscheldescribingtheuniquenessandpermanenceoffingerprints.TheirobservationswereexperimentallyverifiedbytheEnglishscientistSirFrancisGalton,whosuggestedthefirstelementarysystemforclassifyingfingerprintsbasedongroupingthepatternsintoarches,loops,andwhorls.Galton’ssystemservedasthebasisforthefingerprintclassificationsystemsdevelopedbySirEdwardR.Henry,wholaterbecamechiefcommissioneroftheLondonmetropolitanpolice,andbyJuanVucetichofArgentina.TheGalton-Henrysystemoffingerprintclassification,publishedinJune1900,wasofficiallyintroducedatScotlandYardin1901andquicklybecamethebasisforitscriminal-identificationrecords.Thesystemwasadoptedimmediatelybylaw-enforcementagenciesintheEnglish-speakingcountriesoftheworldandisnowthemostwidelyusedmethodoffingerprintclassification.JuanVucetich,anemployeeofthepoliceoftheprovinceofBuenosAiresin1888,devisedanoriginalsystemoffingerprintclassificationpublishedinbookformunderthetitleDactiloscopíacomparada(1904;“ComparativeFingerprinting”).HissystemisstillusedinmostSpanish-speakingcountries. GetaBritannicaPremiumsubscriptionandgainaccesstoexclusivecontent. SubscribeNow Fingerprintsareclassifiedinathree-wayprocess:bytheshapesandcontoursofindividualpatterns,bynotingthefingerpositionsofthepatterntypes,andbyrelativesize,determinedbycountingtheridgesinloopsandbytracingtheridgesinwhorls.Theinformationobtainedinthiswayisincorporatedinaconciseformula,whichisknownastheindividual’sfingerprintclassification.ThereareseveralvariantsoftheHenrysystem,butthatusedbytheFederalBureauofInvestigation(FBI)intheUnitedStatesrecognizeseightdifferenttypesofpatterns:radialloop,ulnarloop,doubleloop,centralpocketloop,plainarch,tentedarch,plainwhorl,andaccidental.Whorlsareusuallycircularorspiralinshape.Archeshaveamoundlikecontour,whiletentedarcheshaveaspikelikeorsteeplelikeappearanceinthecentre.Loopshaveconcentrichairpinorstaple-shapedridgesandaredescribedas“radial”or“ulnar”todenotetheirslopes;ulnarloopsslopetowardthelittlefingersideofthehand,radialloopstowardthethumb.Loopsconstituteabout65percentofthetotalfingerprintpatterns;whorlsmakeupabout30percent,andarchesandtentedarchestogetheraccountfortheother5percent.Themostcommonpatternistheulnarloop.Dactyloscopy,thetechniqueoffingerprinting,involvescleaningthefingersinbenzeneorether,dryingthem,thenrollingtheballsofeachoveraglasssurfacecoatedwithprinter’sink.Eachfingeristhencarefullyrolledonpreparedcardsaccordingtoanexacttechniquedesignedtoobtainalightgrayimpressionwithclearspacesshowingbetweeneachridgesothattheridgesmaybecountedandtraced.Simultaneousimpressionsarealsotakenofallfingersandthumbs.Latentfingerprintinginvolveslocating,preserving,andidentifyingimpressionsleftbyaculpritinthecourseofcommittingacrime.Inlatentfingerprints,theridgestructureisreproducednotininkonarecordcardbutonanobjectinsweat,oilysecretions,orothersubstancesnaturallypresentontheculprit’sfingers.Mostlatentprintsarecolourlessandmustthereforebe“developed,”ormadevisible,beforetheycanbepreservedandcompared.Thisisdonebybrushingthemwithvariousgrayorblackpowderscontainingchalkorlampblackcombinedwithotheragents.Thelatentimpressionsarepreservedasevidenceeitherbyphotographyorbyliftingpowderedprintsontheadhesivesurfacesoftape.ThoughthetechniqueanditssystematicuseoriginatedinGreatBritain,fingerprintingwasdevelopedtogreatusefulnessintheUnitedStates,wherein1924twolargefingerprintcollectionswereconsolidatedtoformthenucleusofthepresentfilemaintainedbytheIdentificationDivisionoftheFBI.Thedivision’sfilecontainedthefingerprintsofmorethan250millionpersonsbytheearly21stcentury.Fingerprintfilesandsearchtechniqueshavebeencomputerizedtoenablemuchquickercomparisonandidentificationofparticularprints. NewfromBritannica Beforehigh-wattagefloodlightsbecameprevalent,theNFLusedawhitefootballduringnightgamestoincreasetheball’svisibility. SeeAllGoodFacts HearresearcherstryingtodevelopatechniquetodeterminehowlongafingerprinthasbeenatacrimesceneLearnaboutresearchintodeterminingnotonlybywhombutwhenfingerprintsweremade.©AmericanChemicalSociety(ABritannicaPublishingPartner)SeeallvideosforthisarticleOther“fingerprinting”techniqueshavealsobeendeveloped.Theseincludetheuseofasoundspectrograph—adevicethatdepictsgraphicallysuchvocalvariablesasfrequency,duration,andintensity—toproducevoicegraphs,orvoiceprints,andtheuseofatechniqueknownasDNAfingerprinting,ananalysisofthoseregionsofDNAthatvaryamongindividuals,toidentifyphysicalevidence(blood,semen,hair,etc.)asbelongingtoasuspect.Thelattertesthasbeenusedinpaternitytestingaswellasinforensics.J.EdgarHooverTheEditorsofEncyclopaediaBritannica