Question | Answer |
What is trace evidence? | Any very small, physical material that can be transferred from person to person or between person and a crime scene. |
What are examples of trace evidence? | Hair, fibers, pieces of glass, paint chips, dirt, and plant material |
What are the 3 major parts of hair? Describe them. | The parts of hair are the cortex, cuticle, and medulla. The cortex is the largest part that gives hair color. The cuticle is the layer of cells that cover the surface. The medulla are the cells that run down the center of the cortex. |
What are the 3 types of cuticles? | They are coronal, spinous, and imbricate. |
What is the medullary index of humans compared to other animals? | Humans have an index of 0.3 while other animals have indexes greater that 0.5. |
Trichology is what? | The study of hair. |
What type of hair is best for analysis? | Scalp hair. |
What are the classifications of fiber? | They are mineral, animal, vegetable, and synthetic. |
What are the fiber identification tests? | They are the burn test, solvent/solubility test, the stain test, and the microscopic tests. |
What are the collection methods for fibers and hair? | They are the tape method and the sweeping/vacuuming methods. |
What collection method is the most effective? | It's the tape method. |
Where could you look for fibers as possible evidence? | You could look on ropes, duct tape, plant debris, building materials, and wool/plant material. |
What type of cuticle is crownlike and belongs to rodents? | Coronal cuticle. |
What type of cuticle is petallike and belongs to most cats? | Spinous cuticle. |
What type of cuticle is flattened and belongs to humans and other animals? | Imbricate cuticle. |
What would be the most incriminating way to link a suspect to a crime using individual cloth characteristics? | The puzzle piece method. |
What can the burn test tell you? | Hints to the origin of the fiber. |
What can the solvent test tell? | Helps to ID a fiber. |
What can you see using the microscopic test? | Weave, braids, folds, twists, translucency, fraying, etc. |
Why can hair be used as evidence? | It contains many toxins and you can extract DNA from the follicle. |
What are the 3 medulla patterns? | Solid continuous, interrupted, and fragmented. Solid: - - - - Interrupted: - - - - Fragmented: - -- --- - - |
What is the medullary index? | It's the width of the medulla relative to the overall width of the hair. |