1.

Personal Identification Definition of Terms

2. Accidental whorl - relatively rare pattern having 3 or more deltas or all the
characteristics of two or more different pattern types (excluding the plain arch). This
category is used to accommodate those patterns that do not conform to any of the
fingerprint patterns.

3. Adhesive lifter - any of a variety of adhesive coated materials or tapes used to lift
fingerprints or footwear impressions.They are primarily used to lift powdered impressions
from non-pourous surfaces.

4. AFIS - (automated fingerprint identification system) enables computers to make rapid

and accurate comparisons between fingerprints and the vast number of fingerprints in
police records.

5. Alternate light source - equipment used to produce visible and invisible light at various
wavelengths to enhance or visualize potential items of evidence.

6. Angle - results from two or more ridges converging with one another at a point.

7. Anthropometry - method of identification devised by Alphonse Bertillon in the late 19th

century,consisting of a set of body measurements thought to form a unique profile.

8. Arch - the ridges enter from one side of the finger,rise in the center forming an arc and
then exit the other side of the finger.

9. Argentina - became the first country to rely solely on fingerprints as a method of

individualization.

10. Bartillonage - a method of classifying human beings by a set of detailed body

measurements, invented by Alphonse Bertillon, a clerk in the French Surete in 1883 but
rendered obsolete by fingerprinting.

11. Bifurcation - (fork) a single ridge splitting or forking into two branches.

12. Biometrics - refers to the identification of humans by their physiological/behavioral

characteristics.

13. Bridges - a connecting friction ridge between parallel running ridges generally right
angles.

14. Central pocket loop - a variation of the plain whorl pattern.Some ridges tend to form a
loop pattern that recurves and surround a whorl at the center.
15. Converging Ridge - two ridges that meet at certain point.

16. Core - A u-turn in the ridge pattern.Approximate center of the pattern area.

17. Cross over/Bridge - a short ridge that runs between two parallel ridges.

18. Cyanoacrylate fuming - important method for the visualization of latent fingerprints.Also
called "super glue fuming".

19. Dactyl - finger

20. Dactylography - the scientific study of fingerprints as a means of identification.

21. Dactylomancy - the scientific study of fingerprint for the purposes of personality
interpretation.

22. Delta - the nearest point nearest the typeline divergence,a characteristic junction in the
looped ridge pattern seen in the fingerprints of approximately 65% of people.The outer
terminal point of the pattern nearest the type line divergence.A Y-shape ridge meeting.

23. Dental records - a standard system for classifying a persons teeth according to
distribution,displacement, and their appearance together with any gaps or evidence of
remedial work; useful for identifying bodies because of the virtual indestructibility of the
teeth.

24. Dermis - the layer of the skin just below the epidermis or outer layer.The dermis has a
rich supply of blood vessels,nerves, and skin structures.

25. Diverging ridges - diverging ridges are parallel for some distance but then swing out
away from each other.

26. DNA profile - consists of a set of DNA identification characteristics that permit the DNA
of one person to be distinguishable from that of another person.

27. Dot - a very short ridge and means exactly what the word implies.

28. Double loop - (twinned loop) another type of whorl.In it ,two separate loop formations are
present and may surround each other.

29. Edgeoscopy – the study of the morphological characteristics of friction ridges; shape or
contour of the edges of friction ridges.
30. Enclosure,ridge - a single ridge that bifurcates and reunites shortly afterwards to
continue as a single ridge.also known as lakes.

31. Enhance - to develop or to bring out from a latent form.

32. Enlargement - a print made from a smaller negative or slide through magnification.

33. Electronic Recording - example, a man selling stolen watches sending images of them
on a mobile phone and those images included parts of his hands in enough detail for
police to be able to identify fingerprint patterns.

34. Epidermis - the outermost non vascular covering of the skin.

35. Exemplar - "known prints" - fingerprints deliberately collected from a subject.

36. Femur - the thighbone which can be measured and used as a guide to the height of the
person to whom it belong.

37. Friction Skin - also called papillary skin, is the epidermal layer found on the ventral or
lower surface of the hands and feet covered with ridges and furrows.

38. Fingerprint - is an impression of the friction ridge of all or any part of the finger.
Fingerprint ridges are formed during the third to fourth month of fetal development.

39. Fingerprint pattern type - formed by a series of lines corresponding to ridges (hills) and
grooves (valleys) on the skin of the fingertip.There are eight basic types of fingerprint
patterns.

40. Fingerprint powder - a powder (silver,gray,black,red, or fluorescent) dusted on a latent

print with a brush to enhance or bring out the ridge details of a print.

41. Fingerprint recognition/Fingerprint identification - refers to the automated method of

verifying a match between two human fingerprints.

42. Fingerprint Sensor - is an electronic device used to capture a digital image of the
fingerprint pattern. The captured image is called a live scan.

43. Focal point - are found within most pattern areas, usually a delta and core.

44. Forensic odontology - the study of teeth,dentures,and bite marks for the purpose of
obtaining criminal evidence or identifying physical remains or the source of the bite
wounds.
45. Friction ridge skin - skin on the soles of the feet,palms of the hands, and fingers of
humans ans some primates that form ridges and valleys.Friction ridge skin forms
classifiable patterns on the end joint of the finger.

46. Furrows - the depressed or canal-like structure/the white space between the ridges.

47. Horizontal plane - is the ridge directly below an up thrusting or angular ridge in tented
arch pattern,the baseline ridge enters the pattern may rise slightly and exits on the
opposite side from which it enters.

48. Identikit - the first packaged system for reconstructing the appearance of a suspects face
based on a wide choice of drawings of facial features.

49. Impressed prints - also called plastic prints and are indentations left in soft pliable
surfaces, such as clay, wax, paint or another surface that will take the impression. They
are visible and can be viewed or photographed without development.

50. Iodine fumes - the oldest method for visualizing latent fingerprints at a crime scene.

51. Island - a single small ridge inside a short ridge or ridge ending that is not connected to
all other ridges.

52. Langer's lines - structural orientation of the fibrous tissue of the skin that forms the
natural cleavage line present in all body areas but visible only in certain areas such as
the creases of the palms.

53. Latent print - generally used to describe any type of print found at the scene of a crime
or on evidence associated with a crime.Latent prints are normally not visible.Some
means of development is generally required for their visualization.

54. Line of flow - imaginary line between the delta and core in the loop and whorl
patterns.Line of flow is used to determine sufficient recurve in patterns.

55. Loop - the ridges enter from one side of a finger,form a curve and then exit on the same
side.

56. Major criminal prints - a recording of all of the friction ridge skin that covers the
hands.Major criminal prints include fingers,palms,tips of the fingers and middle joints of
the finger on both sides.

57. Minutiae - the characteristics that make each fingerprint capable of being differentiated
from any other print by a different area of friction skin.Comparison of latent prints with
known prints begins with the overall pattern.The ridge detail of fingerprints including the
 ends of the ridges,their separations, and their relationships to one another constitute the
bases for fingerprint comparison.

58. Obstruction Ridge - short ridge found inside the recurve which blocks the inner line of
flow towards the core.

59. Patent - chance friction ridge impressions which are obvious to the human eye and
which have been caused by the transfer of foreign material from a finger into a surface.

60. Palmar zone - the elevated area just behind the fingers and above the center of the
palm.This zone has no hair follicles and thus, no apocrine or sebaceous glands.

61. Pattern area - is that part of the fingerprint impression used in the interpretation and
classification of a finger.Is that part of a loop or whorl in which appear the core,delta, and
ridge.

62. Plain arch - the simplest pattern.The ridges enter on one side,rise to form a wave in the
center and exit smoothly on the opposite side.

63. Plain whorl - a pattern in which one or more ridges form a complete revolution around
the center.Whorls generally have two or more deltas.

64. Plantar - pertaining to the sole of the foot.

65. Plastic Print - is a friction ridge impression left in a material that retains the shape of the
ridge detail.

66. Poroscopy – refers to the examination of the shape,size and arrangement of the small
opening on friction ridge through which body fluids are secreted or released. Poros (a
pair), Skopien (to study)

67. Podoscopy – a term coined by Wilder and Wentwrth which refers to the examination of
the soles and their significance in personal identification. Podo (foot), Skopien (to study)

68. Radial loop - a loop formed as part of a fingerprint pattern that opens toward the thumb,
recurve and then exit on the same side.

69. Ridge - the elevated or hill-like structure (the black lines with white dots)

70. Ridge count - is the number of ridges intervening between the delta and the core.

71. Ridge crossing - a point where two ridge units intersect.

72. Ridge Destruction - ridge destruction of the friction skin can either be temporary or
permanent. Generally temporary destruction occur when only the epidermis layer of the
friction skin has been damaged while permanent damage can be injected to the friction
skin due to the damage in the dermis layer.

73. Ridge ending - the point of the ridge's termination.It is considered an ending ridge only if
it terminates within the pattern area.

74. Ridge Formation - ridges start to form in the fingers and thumb during the 3rd to 4th
month of fetus life.

75. Ridgeology – describes the individualization process of any area of friction skin using
allavailable detail.

76. Rod (Bar) - a short or long ridge found inside the recurve directed towards the core

77. Rojas murder case - considered the first homicide solved by fingerprint evidence.

78. Short ridge - a relative term used to denote a ridge that is not as long as the average
ridge in that specific print.

79. Spur - a bifurcation with a short ridge branching off a longer ridge.also known as hooks.

80. Tented arch - variation of the plain arch.Ridges at the center are thrust upward in a more
abrupt manner similar to the appearance of a tent pole.

81. Tibia - the shin bone, often used as guide for calculating a persons height.

82. Tracings - are used to breakdown whorl patterns into smaller sub-groupings.

83. Trifurcation - one single ridge splitting into three-pronged fork-shaped pattern.

84. Typelines - the two innermost ridges that surround or tend to surround the pattern
area.The pattern area of a loop surrounded by two diverging ridges.

85. Ulnar loop - a pattern in which one or more ridges enter on the side toward the little
finger, re-curve and then exit toward the same side.

86. Visible print - sometimes referred to as a patent print.Made by fingers stained with
colored materials such as blood,ink,paint,grease, or dirt.

87. Whorls - fingerprint pattern where the ridges turn through at least one complete
circuit.Ridges form circularly around a central point of the finger.
88. Gilbert Thompson - He used his thumb print on a document to prevent forgery. First
known use of fingerprints in the U.S.

89. John Evangelist Purkinje - He is considered by many as the Father of Dactyloscopy.

90. Juan Vucetich - developed a system of fingerprint identification for police use. The first
successful use of fingerprint identification in a murder investigation.

91. Marcelo Malpighi - in 1686, an anatomy professor at the University of Bologna, noted
fingerprint ridges, spirals and loops in his treatise. A layer of skin was named after him;
"Malpighi" layer, which is approximately 1.8mm thick. Malpighi is considered as the
"Grandfather of Dactyloscopy".

92. Mark Twain - author of the novel Pudd'nhead Wilson where one of the characters has a
hobby of collecting fingerprints.

93. Paul-Jean Coulier - of Val-de-Grâce in Paris, published his observations that (latent)
fingerprints can be developed on paper by iodine fuming, explaining how to preserve
(fix) such developed impressions and mentioning the potential for identifying suspects'
fingerprints by use of a magnifying glass.

94. Sir Edward Richard Henry - he was appointed Inspector-General of Police of Bengal,
India in 1891, he developed a system of fingerprint classification enabling fingerprint
records to be organized and searched with relative ease.

95. Sir Francis Galton - He devised a method of classifying fingerprints that proved useful in
forensic science. He pointed out that there were specific types of fingerprint patterns. He
described and classified them into eight broad categories:

96. Sir Henry Faulds - his first paper on the subject of fingerprint was published in the
scientific journal Nature in 1880. Examining his own fingertips and those of friends, he
became convinced that the pattern of ridges was unique to each individual.

97. Sir William James Herschel - was a British officer in India who used fingerprints for
identification on contracts.

98. Alphonse Bertillon - created in 1879 a system to identify individuals by anthropometric

photographs and associated quantitative descriptions.

99. Henry P. deForrest - used fingerprinting in the New York civil service in 1902 and by
1906. Pioneered U.S. fingerprinting.
100. Nehemiah Grew -(1641 - 1712) - in 1684, this English physician, botanist and
microscopist published the first scientific paper to describe the ridge structure of the skin
covering the fingers and palms.