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How do dermal papillae contribute to fingerprints?

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Learn how regenerative properties of the skin helps to protect the human body from the external environment — human skin Human skin, whose cells are generated continuously by the body, serves as a protective barrier between the inside of the human body and the environment.

Dermal papillae are essential to the formation and permanence of fingerprints. Located in the papillary layer of the dermis, these peglike protuberances are arranged in definite patterns beneath the epidermis.1

These papillae serve as the structural anchor for the epidermal ridges that form fingerprints. Specifically, each ridge of the epidermis is anchored to the dermis by a double row of these papillae. Because the ridge structure is tied to this underlying dermal foundation, superficial injuries such as abrasions or cuts do not alter the pattern; the original design is duplicated as new skin grows. However, because the dermal papillae provide the necessary template for these ridges, an injury that destroys the papillae will permanently obliterate the fingerprint pattern.2