ABSTRACT
The aim of this chapter is to provide a brief summary of the basic elements of friction ridge skin morphogenesis and their relationship to friction ridge skin variability. More extensive accounts for latent fingerprint examiners can be found in Ashbaugh (1999b), Wertheim and Maceo (2002), and Bush (2002). These contributions, with their associated references, constitute the essential material required to gain an understanding of the biological basis for friction ridge pattern variability. They complement and extend the work undertaken by earlier pioneers such as Wilder and Wentworth (1932) and Cummins and Midlo (1961).
