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Article: Fingerprint
- Article from:
- World of Forensic Science
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Thomson Gale. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Fingerprint
Fingerprints are the impressions that are left behind by tiny ridges in the skin on the tips of the fingers and on the palms of the hand. The patterns left by these ridges, which are called friction ridges, are unique to every person. They are determined by the time a fetus is about six months old and they remain constant throughout a person's life. Even identical twins with identical
DNA
have different patterns of friction ridges on their fingers. Although many features of a person can be changed, fingerprints cannot. As a result, fingerprints are an extremely important tool for
identification
of individuals.
The outer layer of skin contains many microscopic pores that ...