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Helpful Hint RIDGE ENDING V. BIFURCATION New Examiners struggling with “explainable differences”, and some testifying Experts, have difficulty condensing what they know to be the truth about the similarity of ending ridges and bifurcations. An ending ridge can be transformed into a bifurcation by excess `medium of transfer' being squeezed into the groove between the ridge end and an adjacent ridge. Conversely the ridge unit(s) which connects (what would be) an ending ridge to another ridge could fail to register if it is not completely formed and insufficient pressure is applied. These “now you see it -- now you don't” phenomena are frequently demonstrated by incipient ridges when printed using slight or heavy pressure.
This explanation would probably not be necessary in cases where the large
number and clarity of points of identification preclude nit--picking, but
it is useful when such an apparent discrepancy is questioned. (Editor --— Tom, you can't stop now. You've got us all hooked, we anxiously await your words of wisdom, timeless tidbits of knowledge and celebrated candor. While we can't all have Tom's “gift of gab” or wealth of knowledge, all of us could write, find little hints, relative newspaper articles or extracts from the wealth of fingerprint literature which need occasional repeating and share these stories, thoughts and knowledge with our peers.)
This article was originally published in “THE PRINT” |