I have always heard that everyones fingerprints are different and unique. I started to wonder, how could there be that many different types of fingerprints pattern? Another thought was, we inherit many genetics from our parents how could it not show in our fingerprints?
My research question is, are fingerprint patterns inherited? During this I want to learn if family members will have the same patterns or if there will be anything about the fingerprint is in inherited. I want to figure out if everyone does truly have a unique fingerprint.
To inherit something, something is genetically passed down from one’s parents or ancestors. Things that are known to be inherited are the color of your hair, color of your eyes, color of your skin, height, attitude, personality, and genetic disorders. In my research about things that can be inherited there was nothing about inherited fingerprints.
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The next thing I did research on was fingerprints in general. Fingerprint patterns are an impression or mark made on a surface by a persons fingerprint, especially as used for identifying individuals from the unique pattern of whorls and lines. The use for fingerprints is to identify people. It is used a lot by crime investigators when trying to identify a culprit.
The next thing I did research on was patterns that can be seen in fingerprints. I found that fingerprint patterns have patterns. They have arch which is when the ridges enter from one side of the finger, rise in the center forming an arc, and then exit the other side of the finger. They have loops which is when the ridges enter from one side of a finger, form a curve, and then exit on the same side. They have whorls which is when the ridges form circularly around a central point on the finger. While doing research on the patterns there was still nothing about the fingerprints being inherited. It only talked about the unique patterns.
The next thing I looked into was if fingerprints were actually unique. Many websites said they were, but one said that the individual details of a fingerprint are actually the only thing that is unique thing on a fingerprint. They said that the patterns on a fingerprint can usually also be seen on their family members fingerprints as well. An example of an individual detail that cant be seen on your family members fingerprint is FRS.
FRS is friction ridge skin. A series of ridges and furrows that provide friction to aid in grasping and prevent slippage. FRS is a unique and permanent thing. Not even identical twins have the same FRS. No two individuals have the same FRS.
Proof that fingerprint patterns can be the same as your family members is shown when people try to identify people they skip the fingerprints patterns because they could lead them to their family people and get the wrong people. They will look at things such as the creases, incipient creases, shapes of the ridge spaces, and the specific path of ridges and the breaks or forks in the ridges. This proves that although there are things shown in the fingerprint that different but there is a chance that fingerprints can be inherited.
An interesting thing I learned was the fingerprint don’t change. The fingerprint you have at birth is the fingerprint you will have until you die and decompose. The fingerprint can only be changed if it gets a scar. But when a person gets a scar on their fingerprint it will be much easier to identify a person. The fingerprints get harder to identify and study when the person gets older because their skin will loss elasticity and it will be much harder to see the patterns and fine details.
The next thing I looked into was how do they identify the fingerprint. To identify the fingerprint, they examine the pattern area. The pattern area is the area that contains the core, delta, and ridge. The core is a loop that is mostly around the center of the finger impression. The delta is where the ridges form a triangular-shape.
There are three groups of classification. There are loops, whorls, and arches. If there is one delta it would be classified as a loop. If it had two deltas it would be classified as a whorl. If it had no delta at all it would be classified as an arch. Loop is 66% of the population, whorl is 30% of the population, and arch is 5% of the population. But this was as of 2016.
The last thing I researched was points of identification. This is when fingerprint examiners look at the differences between ridges, number of minutiae, and location on the ridges. Minutiae are the unique ridge patterns with small details that are used to positively match a fingerprint to a suspect. The different types of ridge patterns/small details are bifurcation(fork), ending ridge/opposed bifurcation, dot, hook(spurl), bridge, double bifurcation, pore, short ridge(island), enclosure(lake or eye), t junction, ridge crossing, trifurcation, and row of dots.
After this research I do thing that fingerprint patterns can be inherited. I do think that the small details may not be the same but I do think the patterns will be passed down from parents.
