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Fingerprints, or dermatoglyphs, are a unique, unchangeable and indelible system of primate skin furrows. It is most noticeable on the pads of the fingers and toes, as well as the palms and lips. In some species it is also clearly visible on the inside of the tail. The width of the fingerprints ranges from 0.2 to 0.3 mm, and the height is up to 7 mm.
Fingerprint of the fingers
The science of analysis fingerprint fingers is dactyloscopy. Its creator is Charles Darwin’s cousin – Francis Galton.
There are three main patterns fingerprint: loop, swirl and arc. Within these groups, specific subgroups are distinguished, such as left and right loop pattern, two-loop swirl pattern, arc pattern, as well as atypical patterns. In the case of the Polish dactyloscopic classification system, four main types of patterns are indicated: loop, swirl, arch and tent. Dactyloscopy He also deals with the problem of the age of fingerprints.
Fingerprint of the fingers are a phenotypic trait that plays a very important role in the process of establishing a person’s identity. Their use in forensics dates back to the nineteenth century. Pattern database fingerprint is located in the Central Dactyloscopic Register. Revealing traces fingerprint on various objects, it is carried out using physical methods (the use of multi-matrix powders and amino acid reagents) and the thermal technique popular today (heating the surface with high temperature for a short time).
Fingerprint of the fingers are described on the basis of minutiae, i.e. characteristics such as beginnings, ends, bifurcations, etc. To identify two traces with each other fingerprint it is sufficient to indicate several or more than a dozen of the same features. The number of common features sufficient to establish a person’s identity in the forensic procedure is regulated by individual countries. In the case of Poland, it is 12 minutiae. Fingerprint patterns may be downloaded only in the cases specified by legal code. Since 2009, there is an obligation to make them available when applying for a passport.
Fingerprint features
From an evolutionary point of view, the main one function fingerprint is to prevent the hands and feet from slipping off the ground and when gripping objects. At the end of each fingerprint the mouths of the sweat glands are located. By moistening the skin, they improve its adhesion. No presence fingerprint it would be impossible to hold objects such as a glass in your hand.
Children’s fingerprints
Fingerprint layout of the fingers between 100 and 120 days of fetal life, as a result of the initial shrinkage of the smooth fingertips. Children’s fingerprints they do not change during adolescence, but in childhood their pattern is more dense.
Fingerprints – interesting facts
- The presence of fingerprints is not unique to primates. It has also been found in koalas.
- The pattern of fingerprints remains different even in identical twins.
- There are cases of people deprived of fingerprints due to rare genetic diseases.
- The types of fingerprint patterns remain to some extent dependent on the population diversity. For example, in the case of the white race, the loops are dominant.
- It is estimated that the probability of repeating a fingerprint pattern for two people is 1: 64.000.000.000, which exceeds the number of people on earth.