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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 28, 2025

Behavioral Assessment of Manual Dexterity in Non-Human Primates
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Fingerprint ridges allow primates to regulate grip.

Seoung-Mok Yum1, In-Keun Baek1, Dongpyo Hong1

  • 1Center for THz-Driven Biomedical Systems, Department of Physics and Astronomy, College of Natural Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|December 1, 2020
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Fingerprints regulate moisture for optimal skin hydration, enhancing grip. This unique mechanism, involving capillary evaporation and sweat pore blocking, provides primates with superior manipulative and locomotive abilities.

Keywords:
capillary evaporationepidermal ridge functionfinger pad frictionmoisture regulation

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Area of Science:

  • Biophysics
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Dermatology

Background:

  • Fingerprints, unique to primates and koalas, are hypothesized to offer advantages over smooth pads found in carnivorans.
  • Previous theories suggested epidermal ridges decrease friction, promote interlocking, channel water, prevent blisters, and enhance tactile sensitivity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the functional advantages of fingerprints, specifically their role in friction and moisture regulation.
  • To elucidate the underlying mechanisms responsible for maintaining optimal skin hydration for grip.

Main Methods:

  • Femtosecond laser-based polarization-tunable terahertz wave spectroscopic imaging.
  • Infrared optical coherence tomography.

Main Results:

  • Fingerprints initiate a moisture-regulating mechanism crucial for optimal keratin hydration and friction.
  • Skin plasticization due to sweat occlusion dramatically increases friction on impermeable surfaces.
  • A combination of microfluidic capillary evaporation and sweat pore blocking maintains optimal moisture in furrows, maximizing friction in both wet and dry conditions.

Conclusions:

  • The moisture-regulating function of fingerprints provides primates with enhanced manipulative and locomotive abilities in diverse environmental conditions.
  • This evolutionary advantage, stemming from sweat glands and epidermal furrows, is not present in animals with smooth digital pads.