ABSTRACT
Fingerprint patterns fall into three classes easily remembered by the anagram LAW for loops, arches, or whorls. When ridgelines fold back on themselves, a loop results. A loop pattern is analogous to the path a car would take driving in and out of a cul-de-sac. Two types of loop patterns can be distinguished-a left loop where the loop pattern enters from the left (Figure 14.1) and a right loop in which the loop pattern enters from the right (Figure 14.2). Loops can also be classified as radial or ulnar. With a radial loop, the ridges of the loop point toward the little finger. With an ulnar loop, the loop ridges point toward the thumb. The terms radial and ulnar, therefore, are dependent upon from which hand the print was lifted.
