MEDICINA FORENSE EN IMÁGENES La huella perdida. Identificación personal utilizando un dedo parcialmente amputado encontrado en la escena de un robo. The "lost fingerprint". Personal identification using a partially amputated finger found at the scene of a robbery.

Fingerprints have been used during centuries for identifying people and they have a high value as an identifying evidence of the author of a crime. It is usual to find them at the scene of the crime as invisible or visible traces that must be looked for, developed and fixed with suitable police techniques. Although in the last years, DNA is considered the paramount in criminal investigation, fingerprints continue to be a very easy and inexpensive technique for personal identification. We present the forensic and police investigation of a fingerprint "lost" during a robbery attempt. A thief suffered an amputation of the finger's pulp that was a fundamental proof to identify him. Problems related to fingerprints as a reliable physical identification tool are reviewed.