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4.10: WHORLS

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    Unlike boring arches, whorls are exciting. A whorl is a fingerprint pattern in which the ridge formations are spiral, elliptical or oval shapes, or have variations of these formations, and at least two deltas are present with a re-curve in front of each. There are four types of whorls: the plain whorl, the central pocket whorl, the double-loop whorl, and the accidental whorl.

    Plain Whorl

    A plain whorl has two deltas and at least one ridge making a complete circuit, which may spiral, oval, circle or have any variant of a circle. If you drew an imaginary line drawn between the two deltas, the line must touch or cross one of the re-curving ridges within the inner pattern area.

    Diagram of a fingerprint with labeled points: "Recurve" and "Delta." Arrows indicate where lines touch the ridges.
    Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Plain Whorl - FBI Science of Fingerprints - Public Domain

    Central Pocket Whorl

    A central pocket whorl has two deltas and at least one ridge making a complete circuit, which may form a spiral, oval, circle or any variant of a circle. An imaginary line drawn between the two deltas must not touch or cross one of the re-curving ridges within the inner pattern area.

    Diagram of a fingerprint showing labeled features: two deltas and two recurves, with an explanatory note about ridges.
    Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\): Central Pocket Whorl - FBI Science of Fingerprints - Public Domain

    Double-Loop Whorl

    Double-loop whorls are fun. They consist of two separate loop formations with two deltas and two distinct sets of recurving ridges called shoulders. Shoulders are the points on a loop at which the re-curving ridge definitely turns inward or curves. You may ask why this is a whorl pattern and not a loop pattern. The answer is that there are two deltas.

    Fingerprint image with labels indicating two recurve shoulders and two deltas.
    Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\): Double-Loop Whorl - FBI Science of Fingerprints - Public Domain

    Accidental Whorl

    Accidental Whorls are fun too, but not as fun as the double-loop whorl. Your author prefers to call this category of whorls the dumpster for whorls because this pattern consists of a combination of patterns, excluding the arches, with two or more deltas; or a pattern that possesses some of the requirements for two or more different types; or a pattern that conforms to none of the standard definitions of other patterns.

    Close-up of a black and white fingerprint showing distinct swirling patterns and ridges.
    Figure \(\PageIndex{4}\):Accidental
    Whorl - FBI Science of Fingerprints -
    Public Domain
     
    Black and white close-up of a fingerprint showing distinct swirls and ridges.
    Figure \(\PageIndex{5}\):Accidental
    Whorl - FBI Science of Fingerprints -
    Public Domain

    Elements of a Whorl

    Things to remember for the whorl pattern:

    • The ridge formations are spiral, elliptical or oval shapes, or have variations of these formations
    • There are at least two deltas present with a re-curve in front of each

    This page titled 4.10: WHORLS was last modified on Sun, 25 Jan 2026 18:10:12 GMT and is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by David Doglietto.

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