Fingerprints made up primarily of Arches are sometimes classified as Arch prints.Ģ001 © Sense Technologies Inc.™, Inc. Common minutiae points are the intersection of Bifurcations, ending points of Islands and the center point of the sweat glands.ĪRCH-Arch line-types can be found in most print patterns. MINUTIAE POINTS-Is the term used to define common micro features in a finger print. The moisture and oils they produce actually allow the fingerprint to be electronically imaged. SWEAT GLAND-The finger contains many sweat glands. (i.e., does not touch another line-type and is totally contained in the pattern area of interest.) ISLAND-An Island is a line-type which stands alone. LOOP-A Loop is a recurve line-type that enters and leaves from the same side of the fingerprint. They tend to be associated with Tented Arch pattern prints. This line-type quickly rises and falls at a steep angle. The arch simply looks like a mole hill you might see in the yard. There is no tri-radii, as the whorl has, nor a tent pole like the ‘tented’ arch. SPIRAL-A Spiral line-type spirals out from the center of the fingerprint and is generally found in Whorl print patterns.īIFURCATION-Is the intersection of two or more line-types which converge or diverge. The arch and the tented arch comprise about 5 of all fingerprint patterns found on the human finger tips and thumbs. It has little to no recurve features and tends to be found in the center of the fingerprint’s pattern area.ĮLLIPSE-An Ellipse is a circular or oval shaped line-type which is generally found in the center of Whorl patterns. The least common would be arches or ridges with five. ROD-A Rod generally forms a straight line. We also found out that whirls is the next common fingerprint with thirty to thirty five percent. The following examples are typical of the most common line-types found in prints. This area and its contents determine the classification of the print (i.e., Arch, Loop, Whorl, etc.). Its lack of cores, lines or deltas makes it unique. In fact, about 5 of the world’s population have this fingerprint pattern.
The ‘Pattern Area’, is a term used to describe the center area of a print which contains many of the line-types previously described. Read on to learn more about each type of fingerprint. Common Line Types (Shapes) Found in Fingerprintsįingerprint patterns are made up of ‘line-types’ (shapes) which determine the general classification characteristics of the print (i.e., Arch, Loop or Whorl).