ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Published Online: 1 October 1986
Page Count: 18

A Method for the Description of Minutia Pairs in Epidermal Ridge Patterns
Stoney, DA
Assistant professor of forensic science, University of Illinois at Chicago, IL

Thornton, JI
Professor of forensic science, University of California, CA

(Received 2 November 1985; accepted 21 January 1986)

Abstract

A descriptive method is presented that allows documentation of minutia configurations in epidermal ridge patterns. The method incorporates the basic features relevant to fingerprint comparison: minutia types, orientations, and relative positions. Provision is also made for the ambiguities in minutia type which are an inevitable feature of any fingerprint comparison process. A descriptive method incorporating these features is needed to study systematically the variation of epidermal ridge minutiae and to test the existing hypotheses regarding the frequencies of occurrence of specific minutia configurations.

Keywords:
forensic science, fingerprints, comparative analysis, epidermal ridges, pattern analysis

Paper ID: JFS11902J
DOI: 10.1520/JFS11902J
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