Fingerprints (The Interesting Bit..)

Fingerprint ridges (patterns) start to develop during three to four month of the fetal development, the point of the ridges develping is so that its easier to gain grip of objects when older. The friction that the ridges cause on the fingers, aloows the ridges to arrange themselves in more or less regular patterns with the ridge patterns. All fingerprints have a unique combination and arrangement of patterns and ridge characteristics. The patterns of friction ridges, that are created, contain rows of sweat pores that allow sweat and or oil to exit from glands. Sweat mixed with other body oils and dirt produces fingerprints on smooth surfaces.

No two fingerprints have ever been discovered to be alike, not even on identical twins, even though fingerprints are very similiar in familes, but they are not inherited. Fingerprints cannot be altered or changed, even when scar tissue is created the skin that grows back will produce the same pattern.

If it has been proved that families fingerprints do look similar, then how closley similiar do they resemble each other?

Fingerprint identification:
In order for indentification to be made with fingerprints, with crimes and other things, certain things have to match. They have to have a similiar or same amount of fingerprint ridges to be matched up.
Fingerprint identification is assesed with three levels. Level one being the ridges flow and the layout of the ridges, there not extact way of finding out but they can help to exclude certain people from fingerprint enquiries. Level 2 is ridge characteristics and placement and this can allow a individual to be matched, and level 3 looks at the angle of the paths, width, shape, pores, edge contours, breaks, scars and cuts and this can lead to prosecutions.

Here is an example of level three identification: