Fingerprint image taken from Edward Richard Henry's "Classification and Uses of Fingerprints." The Henry Classification System divides fingerprint records into groupings based on pattern types. The system makes it possible to search large numbers of fingerprint records by classifying the prints according to whether they have an "arch," "whorl," or "loop." In the typical whorl pattern ridges form circularly around a central point on the finger. The Henry Classification System is a long-standing method by which fingerprints are sorted by physiological characteristics for one-to-many searching. Developed by Sir Edward Henry in the late 19th century for criminal investigations in British India, it was the basis of modern day AFIS classification methods up until the 1990s. In recent years, the Henry Classification System has generally been replaced by ridge flow classification approaches.