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Antemortem And Postmortem Records

Antemortem (AM) records are records collected from live subjects, and can come from any part of friction ridge skin. Friction ridge skin is present on the palmar and plantar surfaces of the hands and feet. As such, impressions from the fingers and palms of the hands as well as the toes and soles of the feet can all be used for personal identification purposes. During antemortem friction ridge print recovery, the living subject is usually manipulated against the recording medium. Postmortem (PM) records are records collected from deceased subjects or remains. During postmortem friction ridge recovery, the recording medium is usually manipulated against the deceased subject in the same manner as the antemortem records. Unless a manual comparison is available, an AFIS search of an unidentified postmortem impression is used as a tool to find antemortem records in order to establish or verify the deceased subject's identity.

Committee
Medicolegal Death Investigation
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASB Best Practice Recommendation 094 Postmortem Impression Recovery: Guidance and Best Practices for Disaster Victim Identification. AAFS Academy Standards Board (ASB), 410 North 21st Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80904, 2021. Source link