Eccrine Sweat Gland
Definition
A coiled secretory gland in the deep dermis that opens via a straight duct to a pore on the friction ridge crest. Eccrine secretion (primarily water, sodium chloride, amino acids, lactic acid) is the primary chemical component of a latent print.
- Location
- Deep dermis
- Duct path
- Straight duct to a pore on the friction ridge crest
- Secretion
- Water, sodium chloride, amino acids, lactic acid
- Forensic role
- Primary chemical source of latent prints
Common questions
Why does the eccrine gland's anatomical position matter for print quality?+
Because its duct opens precisely at a pore on the ridge crest, the secretion is deposited in a pattern that mirrors the friction ridge detail itself, which is what makes a latent print a faithful record of ridge minutiae rather than a diffuse smear.
Do eccrine glands differ from the sweat pores visible in high-resolution print images?+
The visible pores in a high-resolution print correspond directly to the duct openings of individual eccrine glands, and their number, size and position are used in poroscopy as an additional layer of comparison beyond ridge pattern alone.
Related terms
- ACE-V
- Analysis, Comparison, Evaluation, Verification: the four-stage method for latent print examination used by accredited forensic fingerprint laboratories. Analysis examines the latent in...
- Friction Ridge Skin
- Specialised volar skin on fingers, palms, and soles characterised by parallel ridges and furrows, absence of hair follicles, and a high density...
- Individuality
- The claim that no two persons share an identical friction ridge configuration at any corresponding digit. Supported empirically by the absence of...
- Monozygotic Twin Distinction
- Despite sharing a genome, monozygotic twins develop different ridge configurations at the minutia level, demonstrating that ridge individuality arises from non-genetic developmental...
- NAS 2009 Report
- The National Academy of Sciences report 'Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward' (2009), which critiqued the scientific foundations...
- Papillary Dermis
- The uppermost layer of the dermis, characterised by dermal papillae projecting into the epidermis. In friction ridge skin, the pattern of these...
- Persistence
- The property that friction ridge configuration remains stable from birth through death and into decomposition, as long as the papillary dermis survives....
- Ridge Formation Window
- The period from approximately gestational weeks 10 to 17 during which friction ridges form by epidermal thickening and proliferation, propagating outward from...
- Volar Pad
- A transient cushion of mesenchymal tissue on the volar surface of each developing digit, present from approximately gestational week 6 to 7...