Fingerprints and human identification 93
visible on the surface of the dermis if it has been successfully reconditioned.
If no detail is present, the hand can be placed back into the water for another
five to ten seconds. When there is abrasion trauma to the skin, an alternate
form of the procedure should be used where the water from the hot pot is
indirectly applied to the hand, such as with a sponge, to control development
and avoid increasing the size of any cuts that may obscure visible friction
ridge detail.^13
Desiccated or mummified remains are one of the most difficult and
time-consuming types of friction skin damage to recondition. Because the
body tissue dehydrates and shrinks, often resulting from exposure to arid
conditions, the friction skin becomes unusually rigid with severe wrinkling.
The body also may display signs of rigor mortis, which must be overcome to
successfully examine the remains. In order to break mild rigor, an examiner
can forcefully straighten or flatten the fingers of the hand. If this does not
work, the examiner can cut the tendon on the inside of the fingers to release
the rigor and allow the fingers to straighten. Cases of extreme rigor, such
as those involving desiccated remains, require the removal of the fingers
from the hand. In order to remove items (digits, clothing, etc.) from a body,
permission must first be granted by the medical examiner or coroner. After
approval is granted, the examiner may amputate the fingers and place them
into sealable jars labeled with the corresponding finger position.
Hands associated with desiccated remains must be rehydrated in order
to remove the wrinkles from the friction ridge skin. This is usually accom-
plished by soaking the fingers in jars containing dishwashing liquid diluted
with warm water. Alternatively, a number of different chemical methods can
be used to rehydrate the skin, such as soaking the fingers in 1 to 3% sodium
hydroxide or in the leather conditioner Lexol® (Summit Industries, Inc.,
Marietta, Georgia). The rehydration of the fingers may take hours or days,
depending on the extent of desiccation. Accordingly, the examiner should
regularly check for skin pliability. When the skin has softened, the fingers
are removed from the jars and washed clean. The examiner should try to
stretch the skin to remove any creases and then use tissue builder to remove
any remaining wrinkles, returning the fingers to a near natural appearance.
If friction ridge detail is not visible or the fingers have become saturated from
soaking, the boiling technique can be used after rehydration to visualize any
ridge detail that may be present.
The examination of charred remains can be a delicate task. This type of
damage results in brittle friction skin that can be further damaged through
excessive handling of the body. When an individual is burned to death, the
body will usually exhibit clenched hands. Clenching of the hands is a natural
reaction that tends to protect the friction ridge detail on the fingers and pos-
sible residual prints left by the victim. Instead of forcing the fingers open,
the tendon on the inside of the fingers should be cut and the fingers gently