The number and locations of the bifurcations and ridge endings, known as minutiae, vary from finger to finger in any particular person, and from person to person for any particular finger; for example, the ring finger on the right hand.
When a set of finger images is obtained from someone, the number of minutiae is recorded for each finger. The precise locations of the minutiae are also recorded, in the form of numerical coordinates, for each finger.
The result is a function that can be entered and stored in a computer database which can rapidly compare this result with that of anyone else in the world whose finger image has been scanned.
2. An anatomical area of the body that has two branches or divisions that are forked: One example of such a bifurcation is when roots divide in a multi-rooted tooth.Other body parts that are bifurcations include the trachea, or the windpipe, which divides into the two bronchi or branches of the trachea that go into each of the two lungs.