What is writer’s palm?
Side of the hand impression, typically made when writing
What are the major regions of the palms?
Interdigital
Hypothenar
Thenar
What are volar pads?
Prominent in development
Volar pads are temporary swellings on the palms, fingers, and feet of a human fetus that form during embryonic development and are crucial for creating the unique patterns of fingerprints and friction ridges
Contributes to the patterns that you have as an infant
Interdigital region
Directly under the fingers
Waterfall feature
Abundance of triradii (more common to find a total of four deltas, including snow-cone deltas
It is normal for there to be no deltas as well
Watergall interdigital feature
The primary flow of ridges in the interdigital area begins between the base of the index and middle fingers and flows across the upper section of the hand. It does so in a sweeping motion, culminating with a mounded area of ridges directly beneath the base of the little finger before it exits the hand on the ulnar side of the palm
Delta under the index finger
The angles formed by this delta, are more evenly spaced than the angles formed by the deltas associated with the other fingers
It is also most often comprised of some of the cleanest, clearly visible, ridge detail found on the palm. It is therefore referred to as the clean delta
The clean delta contains the only part of the interdigital area ridge flow that actually leaves the interdigital area
It flows down through the “funnel” area
The angles of the delta underneath the middle finger are not evenly spaced but instead have one angle
Snow-Cone Deltas
The flow of the ridges trailing off of the bottom of this “snow-cone” delta have a direction of flow, either right or left
If the flow is towards the right it can be referred to as “snow cone right”
If towards the left it can be referred to as snow cone left
Thenar area
Closer to the thumb
Look for: Long over short, this will tell you which hand, half, vestiges, loops
What are vestiges
Usually in the thenar
It is a group of ridges that flow perpendicular to the flow of ridges around them. They are often found near the base of the thumb (looks like a beehive)
THIS IS VERY INDICATIVE OF THE THENAR AREA
Hypothenar
Opposite of the thumb
Has the carpal delta (typically on the low end, but can be anywhere)
The primary flow of ridges in the hypothenar is composed of ridges which flow downward in a diagonal direction from the center of the hand to the edge of the hand
The ridges flow down and out of the hand and exit the side of the hand as opposed to the bottom of the hand as seen in the thenar
Look for: Funnel area, As the ridges of the hypothenar approach the lower area of the hand they begin to make a wide sweeping turn away from the center and bottom of the hand and continue across the hypothenar until they exit the side of the hand, 12 O’Clock
What is important about 12 O’Clock?
Between the thenar and the hypothenar is a flow of ridges that travel primarily straight up and down. The ridges at the lower portion form a delta formation. When the print is oriented correctly, the ridges directly above the carpel delta will normally run straight upward in what is referred to as the 12 o’clock position
What formations are in the hypothenar
Most common not to have anything
Second most common will be the loop
Outward loop: the most common type of pattern i the hypothenar is a looping formation, with the nose of the loop being near the outside of the hand
Inward loop: sometimes there is an inward nosed loop” in the hypothenar….
Double loop
Downward loop
Whorl
Delta
Much less common, it is possible that the carpal delta, which is normally located near the base of the hand, will shift to the hypothenar side of the palm
High delta: it is not uncommon for the carpal delta to be found in an elevated position, much higher than its “normal” position at the base of the hand.
What is the purpose of trying to recognize the characteristics of the palms?
Can help you determine if it is the right or left hand
Helps with elimination or exclusion of persons (helps work towards identification)
Helps with positioning (comparing orientation)
What are the major creases of the palm?
Distal Transverse (top)
Proximal transverse (middle)
Radial longitudinal (bottom)
Pattern force
The effect of a general fingerprint pattern (like a loop or whorl) on the creation of specific minutiae (like ridge endings and bifurcations).
These minutiae are forced into a particular arrangement due to the flow of the ridges in the pattern
Does exclusion from the source of a print exclude them from being in the location at one point?
NO
Distal Transverse Crease
Top crease
One of the most common features that appears in the “top crease” area on the ulnar side of the palm are small bifurcating creases which are found in repetition “crows feet” and tend to open toward the outside of the hand.
The “crows feet” creases also open upward into the interdigital and downward into the hypothenar
The upper side of the top crease near the ulnar edge of the hand encompasses the end of the “waterfall” flow of ridges, culminating in a typical “mounding” of ridges
As the top crease continues across the hand, it starts to turn upward toward the index finger
The most common appearance at this area of the top crease is the splitting into two or more parts with the split opening toward the “clean delta” area and ending prior to reaching the end of the hand
This type of top crease can be referred to as a “splitter”
Another ridge flow feature occurring near the ulnar side of the top crease is a type of vertically terminating ridge that is often found on the bottom of the side of the top crease “, terminating ridges”
The ridges on the opposite side of the top crease do not usually exhibit this same type of vertical termination
Crows feet
open upward into the interdigital and downward into the hypothenar. They can only tell you where the outside of the hand is and not whether it is the right or left hand
major indicator of distal transverse crease
Proximal transverse crease
Middle crease
The middle crease enters the hand on the thumb side between the index finger and the thumb
It may enter into the palm directly above the bottom crease or may actually start from the joined position with the bottom crease
The middle crease continues across the palm and ends in the hypothenar area, usually in the middle of the funnel area.
Radial longitudinal crease
Bottom crease
Enters the hand either with, or directly below the middle crease on the thumb side of the palm
Its primary direction of travel coincides with the half-moon flow of ridges of the thenar
Delta always falls on the hypothenar side
One of the most important features of the bottom crease is that hte majority of the time it exits the hand on the thumb side of the carpal delta, or on top of it
Even though many bottom creases may contain several separate pieces, the majority of them will still be
Very little ridge detail (basically none, there are none, it is a void)
Starburst crease
Secondary crease
originate in the web area of the hand and extend out into the thenar.
The tips of the starburst crease can sometimes appear to be turning upward slightly – or feathered. When this occurs, the ends will consistently turn upward and not downward which can be another important orientation clue
The extent to which it is reproduced in a latent or recorded palmprint is dependent upon the level of stretching of the web area before the palm touches the surface
**Indicative of thenar
Edge creases of the thenar
Secondary crease
At the outside edge of the thenar between the thumb and the base of the hand, a series of “edge creases” often appear
Typically, the size and number of “edge creases” in the thenar increase as you get closer to the edge of the palm
Hypothenar edge creases
Secondary creasing
The main difference between the edge creases of the thenar and hypothenar is related to how they correlate with the surrounding ridge flow
Thenar creasing
Secondary crease
Section of the thenar directly out from the base of the thumb and contains a majority of thenar creases
Scratch horizontally across the ridges
Cross hatching- appears as multiple, intwewoven creases, which are perpendicular
