NEET Forensic Medicine & Toxicology (FMT) Practice Test

Leprosy, caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae, can lead to significant skin and nerve damage, particularly in the hands and feet. One crucial consequence of this disease is the loss of sensation in the extremities. As the disease progresses, individuals may develop skin ulcerations and infections, which can directly affect the integrity of the skin on the fingers.

Specifically, the disease can result in scarring and ultimately deformities due to repeated injuries, leading to the permanent loss of the fingerprint patterns. Because the superficial layers of the skin are compromised, the intricate ridge structures that form unique fingerprints can become altered or completely absent. This results in a permanent loss of fingerprints, making identification through traditional means more challenging.

Other options, such as increasing ridge count or enhancing clarity, are not applicable in the context of leprosy since the physical changes induced by the disease tend to damage or obliterate the normal structures required for fingerprint formation. Similarly, normalizing ridges does not occur because the condition leads to a distinctive and often altered pattern due to skin and nerve injury.