What are fingerprints?

Question

What i mean is.... what makes a fingerprint exist and why? Cos I have just had the biggest blister on earth on my finger end after an accident involving a very very hot pizza oven and obviously - I lost a few layers of sin.

and now it is healing up and my fingerprint is coming back.. Why?

Obviously - that's a typo! I am not trying to start a new branch of religion! I lost a few layers of SKIN.

Answer 1

Fingerprints offer an infallible means of personal identification. That is the essential explanation for their having supplanted other methods of establishing the identities of criminals reluctant to admit previous arrests.
OR
A fingerprint is an impression of the friction ridges of all or any part of the finger. [1] A friction ridge is a raised portion of the epidermis on the palmar or plantar skin, consisting of one or more connected ridge units of friction ridge skin.[1] These ridges are sometimes known as "dermal ridges" or "dermal papillae".

Fingerprints may be deposited in natural secretions from the eccrine glands present in friction ridge skin (secretions consisting primarily of water) or they may be made by ink or other contaminants transferred from the peaks of friction skin ridges to a relatively smooth surface such as a fingerprint card.[2] The term fingerprint normally refers to impressions transferred from the pad on the last joint of fingers and thumbs, though fingerprint cards also typically record portions of lower joint areas of the fingers (which are also used to effect identifications).

The science of fingerprint Identification stands out among all other forensic sciences for many reasons, including the following:

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Has served all governments worldwide during the past 100 years to provide accurate identification of criminals. No two fingerprints have ever been found alike in many billions of human and automated computer comparisons. Fingerprints are the very basis for criminal history foundation at every police agency.
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Established the first forensic professional organization, the International Association for Identification (IAI), in 1915.
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Established the first professional certification program for forensic scientists, the IAI's Certified Latent Print Examiner program (in 1977), issuing certification to those meeting stringent criteria and revoking certification for serious errors such as erroneous identifications.
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Remains the most commonly used forensic evidence worldwide - in most jurisdictions fingerprint examination cases match or outnumber all other forensic examination casework combined.
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Continues to expand as the premier method for identifying persons, with tens of thousands of persons added to fingerprint repositories daily in America alone - far outdistancing similar databases in growth.
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Outperforms DNA and all other human identification systems to identify more murderers, rapists and other serious offenders (fingerprints solve ten times more unknown suspect cases than DNA in most jurisdictions)

Answer 2

I belive its like the tread on a car tyre, it helps you to grip things when you have damp fingers

it is created by the enviroment in the womb before you are born

Answer 3

I've always thought fingers prints are like your DNA unique to that person, not sure why we have them, i can't think of any other reasons other then to identify who you are.

Answer 4

My understading is they produce texture that helps you hold on to stuff - like a gecko's pads help it climb.

Answer 5

not sure