Types of Fingerprint Patterns

What are Different Types of  Fingerprint Patterns?

1. Arches

Arches are found in approx 5% of the recorded fingerprints. In an Arch pattern, ridges enter from one side travel to the other side, and lift slightly at the center of the pattern (like a wave) finally exiting from the opposite side. 

Based on the nature of Arches they are further divided into two types i.e. Plain Arch and Tented Arch.

(a) Plain Arches

Plain Arches

Plain Arch is the simplest pattern among all fingerprint patterns. In a plain arch, the ridges enter from a side (say left) and flow to the opposite side (Right) by making a small rise at the center like a wave. They don't have any core deltas but they do have numerous ridge formations like ridge endings, bifurcations, dots, and islands.

(b) Tented Arches

Tented Arches

In this type of Arch, most of the ridges enter from one side and flow towards the opposite side by making a definitive angle (90 degrees or less) or standing straight at the center of the pattern and finally exiting from the opposite side. They also don't have any core or deltas but they do have numerous ridge formations like ridge endings, bifurcations, dots, and islands.

2. Loops

Around 60-65% of the recorded fingerprints are loop which makes it the most common fingerprint pattern in the population. A loop is formed when one or more ridges enter from a side (either left or right), continuing up to the center of the pattern, recurving around the core forming a loop, and then flowing back and terminating/exiting from the same side of the pattern. 

A loop always has one delta and a core and at least one ridge passes freely between the delta and the core. Based on the direction of opening and closing the loops, they are further subdivided into two types:

(a) Radial Loops

Radial Loops

The loop is formed by the ridges entering from one side and flowing back from the same side after recurving around the core, to the same side with the opening of the loop pointing toward the radial bone or 

(b) Ulnar Loop

Ulnar Loop

This loop is also formed by ridges, which enter from one side and flow back, after recurving around the core, to the same side with the opening of the loop pointing towards the ulnar bone or the little finger of the same hand. To check whether the loop is radial or ulnar, we must know the hand from which the fingerprint originated.

3. Whorls

Whorls

Whorl is found in the approx 30-35% of the recorded fingerprints of the population, making it the second most common fingerprint pattern after the loops. In a whorl, the ridge enters from a side making a complete spiral around the core of the fingerprint and terminate or tend to terminate at the core. 

A whorl has 2 deltas and one core and the imaginary line drawn between two deltas must cross at least one recurving ridge to call the pattern a whorl. These types of whorls are known as plain whorls.

4. Composites

Composites are the 4th category of the fingerprint pattern. They are a mixture of Arches, loops, and Whorls. Around 1-2% of the population have these composites. Based on the nature of ridge movements, composites are classified into 4 types:

(a) Central Pocket Loops

Central Pocket Loops

A central Pocket loop is a combination of a loop and a whorl. In this fingerprint pattern, most of the ridges form loop, but one or more ridges recurve around the core, forming a pocket. If an imaginary line is drawn between two deltas then it should not intersect any of these recurving ridges.

(b) Double/ Twinned Loops

Double Loops

As the name suggests, a twinned loop contains a double-loop pattern. The two loops either overlap or surround each other and contain the point of the core exiting towards the different delta. The double loop pattern is sometimes referred to as the "Ying-Yang" symbol.

(c) Lateral Pocket Loops

Lateral Pocket Loops

A lateral pocket loop is also a double loop pattern that is formed by two loops overlapping or surrounding each other. In this fingerprint pattern, two different kinds of loops enter from the same end of the finger, recurve, and exit from the same end, one loop forms a covering-like pocket outside the other loop.

(d) Accidental

Accidental
Accidental patterns are formed with the combination of two different fingerprint patterns except for plain arch. They have 2 or more deltas. They are too irregular to be placed under the above 3 categories.

Popular Posts

Conducting Polymers: Definition, Examples, Properties and Applications

Image
What are Conducting Polymers? As the name suggests organic polymers that conduct electricity are known as conducting polymers. They are also known as intrinsically conducting polymers (ICPs) and they have alternating single and double bonds along the polymer backbone (conjugated bonds) or that are composed of aromatic rings such as Phenylene, naphthalene, anthracene, pyrrole, and thiophene which are connected through carbon-carbon single bonds. Examples: Polyacetylene, Polypyrrole, Polyaniline, etc What is the reason behind conducting nature of these polymers? Conducting polymers comes in two forms that are doped conducting polymers and non-doped conducting polymers. The conductivity of non-doped conjugated polymers is due to the existence of a conductivity band similar to a metal. In a conjugated polymer, three of the four valence electrons form strong sigma bonds through sp² hybridization where electrons are strongly localized. The remaining unpaired electron of each carbon atom re...
Read more

Crime Scene: Definition, Types and Characteristics

Image
What is a Crime Scene ? A place where the crime is committed or where the maximum physical evidence related to crime is found is known as a crime scene. A crime scene is a starting point of the investigation which provides information about the suspect and the victim. This helps to reconstruct the crime and fast resolution of the case. It is noted that the crime scene is not limited to a single place but may extend to a wider area depending upon the nature of the crime committed. For example, In a murder case where murder is done at one place and the body is disposed on another place. In this case, we have two crime scenes that give information about the crime. Types of Crime Scene Based on evidence found on the crime scene: 1. Primary Crime Scene The crime scene where the actual crime occurred or where more usable pieces of evidence were found is known as the primary crime scene. For example, A murder scene, theft, assault, etc. 2. Secondary Crime Scene The crime scene which is some...
Read more

Documentation of the Crime Scene: Step by Step

Image
What is documentation of the crime scene and Why it is done? After securing the crime scene, the next most important step is documentation of the crime scene because documentation permanently records the crime scene and its physical evidence. Documentation should be done without any wastage of time as the scene and its evidence may get altered over time. The documentation should be done innovatively and the originality of the crime scene should be maintained and documentation should not have pauses or breaks, it should remain constant till the whole crime scene is documented. There are four main tasks of documentation that is note-making, photography, videography , and sketching . It should be noted that all four tasks are necessary and none is a substitute for another. For example, notes are not substitutes for photography, video is not a substitute for sketching, etc. Following are the sequence for crime scene documentation: 1. Note making Documentation of crime scene in the f...
Read more