FM4.1-5,FM14.{4,8} | Identification — Glossary

The least common fingerprint pattern (~5%); ridges enter from one side and exit the other without curving back; no triradius; sub-types: plain arch and tented arch

Progressive wearing away of tooth crown surfaces due to mastication; one of Gustafson's six criteria, scored 0 (none) to 3 (marked)

19th-century anthropometric system of criminal identification using body measurements; replaced by fingerprinting after the 1901 Will West Leavenworth prison case

The age indicated by a person's biological development markers (teeth, bones, secondary sexual characteristics), which may differ from chronological age due to nutritional, hormonal, or genetic variation

A patterned injury caused by compression of teeth against a surface (skin, food, or other material); can link a suspect to a victim through comparison of dental impressions

Progressive deposition of cementum on the root surface throughout adult life; incremental rings visible on cross-section; one of Gustafson's six criteria

Breadth of skull divided by length of skull × 100; used to classify skull shape as dolichocephalic (<75), mesocephalic (75-80), or brachycephalic (>80)

Skin colour as a forensic identification parameter; documented using descriptive categories (very fair, fair, wheatish, dark, very dark) or Fitzpatrick scale (Types I–VI)

Latin for 'body of the crime'; the legal doctrine requiring proof that a crime occurred before prosecution can proceed — distinct from the physical cadaver

Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure; empowers police to request post-mortem examination in cases of sudden, suspicious, or unnatural death

The science and practice of fingerprint identification, based on the permanence and individuality of friction ridge skin patterns

The primary ('baby') set of 20 teeth that erupt between 6 months and 2.5 years and are later replaced by permanent teeth; also called milk teeth

Identification method comparing ante-mortem dental records (X-rays, charts, prosthetics) with post-mortem dental findings to confirm or exclude a suspected identity

Long, narrow skull shape with cephalic index <75; characteristic of Negroid and some Caucasoid populations

The process by which the cartilaginous growth plate at the end of a long bone progressively ossifies and merges with the bone shaft, marking the end of longitudinal growth at that site

A technique that builds a probabilistic approximation of a living face from an unknown skull using tissue depth data and artistic skill, without assuming any specific identity; produces a lead, not a positive identification

A technique for estimating age from extracted or sectioned adult teeth using six progressive age-dependent criteria (attrition, secondary dentine, cementum apposition, root transparency, root resorption, periodontal recession), each scored 0–3

The international standard for fingerprint filing and searching, developed by Sir Edward Henry; assigns numerical values to fingers based on whorl presence, generating a fraction for classification

Indian legislation governing the collection, storage, and use of fingerprints and photographs from convicted and arrested persons; provides the legal basis for fingerprint databases in India

Section 45 of the Indian Evidence Act; permits a doctor to provide expert opinion on age, sex, or cause of death as admissible evidence in court

Section 73 of the Indian Evidence Act; permits a court to direct that fingerprints be taken for comparison, and allows the court itself to compare fingerprints — basis for judicial use of dactylographic evidence

The epiphyseal centre along the crest of the ilium; appears at 14–16 years and fuses at 20–21 years per Indian population data (Reddy's)

A fingerprint pattern where ridges enter and exit from the same side; the most common pattern (~65%); classified as ulnar (opens toward little finger side) or radial (opens toward thumb side); contains one triradius

The epiphysis at the sternal end of the clavicle; the last epiphysis in the body to fuse, completing at approximately 25 years; the most legally significant site for 18-year threshold determination

A formal written expert opinion prepared by a doctor for use in legal proceedings; must state findings, methods, and conclusions with explicit uncertainty where appropriate

The ratio of the medulla diameter to the total hair shaft diameter; <0.33 in human hair, ≥0.5 in most animal hairs — the key criterion for human/animal hair distinction

The specific comparison points in fingerprint analysis — ridge endings, bifurcations, short ridges, islands, and spurs — used to individualise a print to a specific person

Nasal breadth divided by nasal height × 100; leptorrhine (<47), mesorrhine (47-51), platyrrhine (>51) — used in racial classification of skeletal remains

Regression equation relating long bone length to total body height; derived from European cadaver studies with Indian population calibrations available in Reddy's tables

The adult set of 32 teeth (including third molars) that erupt from approximately 6 to 21 years of age

Forensic examination of sweat pore patterns on friction ridge skin, developed by Edmond Locard; provides finer individualisation than ridge pattern comparison; used for partial print confirmation

Protrusion of the jaw beyond the vertical plane of the forehead; characteristic of Negroid skulls in racial classification

In forensic medicine, a probabilistic biological assessment of ancestral population based on skeletal features; four major groups per Reddy's: Caucasoid, Mongoloid, Negroid, Australoid

Translucency of the root apex due to infilling of dentinal tubules with calcium salts; assessed by transillumination; one of the most reliable of Gustafson's six criteria

The notch on the posterior border of the ilium; wide and shallow in females (allowing passage of fetal head), narrow and deep in males

Incremental narrowing of the pulp cavity by deposition of reparative dentine from the pulp wall inward; increases with age; one of Gustafson's six criteria

Mathematical reconstruction of a person's height from long bone measurements using regression formulas; always expressed as a range (±1 SD)

The angle formed at the inferior border of the pubic symphysis; >90° indicates female pelvis, <70° indicates male pelvis

A technique for forensic skull identification that overlays a skull with an ante-mortem photograph of a suspected specific person to compare facial landmarks; requires both a known skull and a known photograph

A standardised 5-stage scale of secondary sexual development (breast/genitalia/pubic hair) used in age estimation and clinical medicine; Stage I = prepubertal, Stage V = adult

The wisdom tooth (last molar in each quadrant); erupts at 17–21 years with the widest age range of any permanent tooth; forensically important as it straddles the 18-year legal threshold

Small quantities of biological or physical material (hairs, fibres, glass fragments, soil) transferred between persons or between a person and a scene during a crime; examined to link suspects, victims, and crime scenes

A point in a fingerprint pattern where three ridge systems meet at approximately 120° angles; arches have 0 triradii, loops have 1, whorls have 2 — their count defines the pattern type

A fingerprint pattern with concentric circular or spiral ridges; second most common (~30%); contains two triradii; sub-types include plain whorl, central pocket, double loop, and accidental