| Author | Message | ||
     Anna Bergqvist (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted From: 89.243.34.173 |
Can fingerprints disappear due to obsessive washing, washing-up, exposure to extreme weather condition, etc.? This seems to be the case with mine, according to the U.S. embassy in London. Do they ever come back? | ||
| Webmaster |
Yes, leprosy is an example of a disease which can destroy friction ridges. The percentage of persons born with no friction ridge skin on their fingers, or having lost such skin due to disease, burns, injuries, etc., is certainly very small, but unknown in forensic circles because universal law enforcement fingerprinting does not generally occur. Additionally, senile atrophy effects on the skin of elderly persons can render friction ridge detail nearly illegible in some persons... but because elderly persons are not routinely fingerprinted (the elderly don't commit much crime for which arrestee fingerprinting is prescribed) an accurate statistic is not within grasp. You may have better luck seeking such answers among dermatoglyphic researchers versus here in forensic science related pages. | ||
| Lillemor Nyström |
Can fingerprints disappear due to a skin disease? How many percents of humanity have no fingerprints? |
