ABSTRACT
A fingerprint, or fingermark, is a raised area of minute ridges found on the surface of the skin of each finger. These structures, known as friction ridges, are also found on the palmar surfaces of the hand and the plantar surfaces of the feet. Latent print examiners and tenprint examiners analyze friction ridge skin in order to determine whether prints of unknown origin and prints of known origin may have originated from the same source. This is possible because friction ridge impressions are unique and persistent. Fingerprint examiners use class characteristics (pattern types) and individual characteristics (minutiae) to come to one of three conclusions about the possible source of a print: identification, exclusion, or inconclusive. This introductory chapter explores the evolutionary and modern significance of friction ridge impressions and fingerprint analysis.
