Fingerprinting is one of several potential important components of a forensic autopsy routine. In the unfortunate event of a mass disaster, and in many cases of drowning and homicide, the dead bodies of the victims are beyond recognition. Sometimes animal scavengers and decomposition may alter a body’s condition to an extent that visual identification becomes impossible. Under these conditions, post-mortem fingerprinting becomes necessary. There are a few methods that forensics use to obtain a decedent’s fingerprint. The state of decomposition and circumstances surrounding the decedent’s death is what determines the method forensic pathologists will use to obtain the prints. post-mortem fingerprinting is a lot more cumbersome than fingerprinting the living due to post-mortem changes such as deterioration, dehydration and rigor mortis. The friction ridge details of a dead body are less clear compared to those of a living person. The post-mortem fingerprinting is carried out after the pathological examination of the decedent is over, so the scrapings from the fingernails don’t become contaminated with the ink or powder. Cases in which the skin of a corpse has started decaying are the most difficult ones to get fingerprints from. In these cases, usually only a small part of the ridge pattern persists. The skin of the fingertips is peeled off and placed in a solution of formaldehyde then the skin fragment of each finger is placed in a separate container. The formaldehyde not only holds back further decomposition of the skin fragment, but also hardens it, so the fingerprint recording becomes easier. The person authorised to take the fingerprints wears latex gloves and places skin pieces on his own fingers. as shown in the photos below, The rolled impressions are then recorded using fingerprint pad method.