Principles of persistence, immutability and uniqueness & their relevance to fingerprint identification

Fingerprint Foundation Knowledge Check

Which European is credited with being the first to note the value of fingerprints for identification?

Sir William Herschel (1833-1917)

The structure of ridges is….

• present at birth

• remains fixed and unchanged throughout life

• one of the last recognisable features to disappear after death

What might cause a fingerprint to change?

• injury penetrating dermis causing permenant damage

• injury or skin condition to epidermis causing temporary damage

How long do new cells from the basal layer take to reach the surface?

4 weeks

What conditions could cause FRS to be temporarily affected?

• warts/calluses

• blisters

• eczema

• psoriasis

• coeliac disease

What could influence FRS permanently?

• rare genetic diseases such as:

• adermatoglyphia

• chemotherapy

• darier’s disease

• ridges off the end

• burns/scars