1. Forensic Science Ms MacCormack Spring 2017
Serology
Forensic Science
Ms MacCormack
Spring 2017

2. What is forensic serology?
Branch of forensics that tests blood serum and other body fluids.
Testing would inlcude:
Blood typing
Characterization of unknown blood
Stain patterns
Paternity testing
Semen identification in rape cases
DNA techniques used for identification

3. What is blood?
Blood is a circulating fluid that provides the body with nutrition, oxygen and waste removal.
The average person has about 5 liters of blood in their body.

4. Parts of blood Blood is made up of the following: Water Cells
Proteins Inorganic Salts
Enzymes

5. Plasma Plasma is the liquid part of blood
Makes up about 55% of the blood
Consists mostly of water and substances dissolved in it.

6. Solid Particles of Blood
The solid particles found in blood are:
Erthrocytes (Red blood cells) – carry oxygen and CO2
Leukocytes (White blood cells) – fight infections
Platelets – helps the blood to clot

7. Questions that a Foresenic Scientist would ask
Is it blood?
Luminol Test
Is it human blood?
Precipitin Test
Can it be associated with an individual?

8. Luminol Test
Luminol is sprayed on an area where blood could have been.
If traces of blood are present where the luminol has been sprayed, the area will glow.
This glowing is due to the reaction of the luminol with hemoglobin.

9. Luminol Tests
Luminol Demonstration
Detecting Blood Using Luminol

10. Precipitn Test
Used to determine if a blood sample is human or not.

11. Blood splatter analysis

12. Types of Splatters
Passive (Dripping)
Transfer (Smearing)
Projected

13. Projection Splatter Analysis
There are two important determinants:
Direction of the splatter
Angle of impact with surface