History
In 1788, this scientist was the first to recognize that the arrangement of skin ridges is never duplicated in two people.
Who is Johann Mayer?
Making up approximately 65 percent of all fingerprints, this is the most common general pattern type.
What is loop?
These visible fingerprints are left on smooth surfaces after being transferred by blood or other liquids.
What are patent fingerprints?
This chemical reagent reacts with amino acids in fingerprint residue to produce a purple color.
What is ninhydrin?
This triangular region is located near the center or entrance of a loop pattern in a fingerprint.
What is a delta?
Alphonse Bertillon created a system in 1883 to identify repeat offenders using these.
What are body measurements?
On the right hand, this type of loop opens toward the right side or pinky finger.
What is ulnar loop?
These fingerprints are physical indentations left in soft materials such as clay or wax.
What are plastic fingerprints?
Commonly known as super glue, fumes from this material react with print constituents to form a hard, whitish deposit.
What is cyanoacrylate?
Non-human primates aside, this animal is one of the few mammals that possesses fingerprints almost indistinguishable from humans.
What is a koala?
In 1888, these two men developed the fingerprint classification system that is still used in the United States today. Name one of them.
Who is either Sir Francis Galton or Sir Edmund Richard Henry?
When drawing a line between two deltas, if none of the curved ridges touch the line, the pattern is classified as this type of whorl.
What is a central pocket whorl?
Secretions from these glands are largely water with inorganic and organic compounds like amino acids, making them the most important for fingerprints.
What are eccrine glands?
Silver nitrate reacts with this to produce a material that turns gray when exposed to light.
What is chloride?
Although there is no fixed legal requirement in the United States, criminal courts generally accept this range of matching points of similarity for identification.
What is 8 to 12 points?
In 1891, this investigator from Argentina improved fingerprint collection by adding all ten impressions and inventing a better collection method.
Who is Ivan "Juan" Vucetich?
This type of arch pattern is similar to a plain arch but features a spike in the center.
What is a tented arch?
These glands secrete fatty or greasy substances.
What are sebaceous glands?
Iodine fumes react with oils and fats to produce this temporary color reaction.
What is yellow brown?
The study of the uniqueness of friction ridge structures and their use for personal identification is known by this term.
What is ridgeology?
Dating back to 1792 to 1750 B.C., fingerprints pressed into these objects marked contracts in ancient Babylon.
What are clay tablets?
This rare whorl pattern contains two or more patterns combined, or does not clearly fall under any other category.
What is accidental whorl?
These glands secrete pheromones and other organic materials.
What are apocrine glands?
These modern tools and alternative light sources require special precautions because they can damage the retina.
What are LASERs?
Bonus fact: Did you know LASER is an acronym? (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation)
This national database maintained by the FBI contains all 10-print cards from across the country.
What is AFIS or IAFIS?
(Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System)