Forensic Sciences Flashcards
Gross (25 cards)
What is forensic science?
“The application of scientific methods and techniques to matters under investigation by a court of law”
What are the 4 main areas of Forensic Analysis?
Biology, Chemistry, Documents, Toxicology
What is Locard’s Principle?
Every contact leaves a trace
What is trace evidence?
Very small amounts of material
What are some ways you can recover evidence?
Shaking
Brushing
Taping
Vacuuming
Swabbing
Hand Picking
Extracting
Pipette/Swab
How can glass be used as evidence?
Glass can be put through colour, physical and chemical analysis.
Crater shaped holes in glass can indicate direction of impact
What can be used for Fibre Analysis?
Tapings, Microscopy, Thin Layer Chromatography, Infrared Spectroscopy
What type of tests are used for semen?
Microscopy
Acid Phosphatase
p30
The DNA
Seminal fluid, is it sterile?
What type of tests can be used for saliva?
Starch/Iodine
Salivary Amylase
Does it contain bacterial/cheek cells?
How can blood be characterised?
Animal or human
Blood type
Sex
Age
Race
What is blood pattern analysis?
“The examination of shapes, location, and distribution patterns of blood stains, in order to provide an interpretation of the physical event which gave rise to the origin”
What are some of the purposes of blood pattern analysis?
Information on the sequence of events: struggle evidence, victim position
What are the three types of blood patterns?
Passive (gravity, drops, pools, clots)
Transfer (Contact, smear, wipe, smudge)
Projected (Arterial spurt/gush, cast off stains, impact, point of convergence)
What is entomology and what is forensic entomology?
Entomology is the study of insects. And forensic entomology is the used of insects and/or arthropods to aid in legal investigations.
What are the three areas of application of forensic entomology?
- Insects that inhabit human remains
- Insects that damage structures
- Infestation of foods
What is pharmacodynamics?
What a drug does to the body. Includes the biochemical, physiological, and molecular effects on the body.
What is pharmacokinetics?
What happens when drugs go into the body.
Absorption
Distribution
Metabolism
Elimination
What happens (generally) when alcohol enters the body?
Alcohol is absorbed into many structures (mouth, oesophagus, intestine, stomach, circulatory system) and is passed into the blood stream and finds its way to various organs around the body.
What factors affect the rates of Absorption?
Quantity
Concentration
Contact time in GIT
Food
Stomach emptying
What is one way to limit alcohol contact time with the GIT?
Having food in the stomach
What can happen if alcohol goes through a microsome oxidative pathway?
The pathway will produce free radicals, build up of these will cause liver damage!
What are the four places you can measure alcohol from?
Blood, Urine, Breath, Saliva
What are some of the types of toxicology cases?
Road traffic act offences
Drink driving
Drug driving
Drug-facilitated sexual assault
Hair testing for social services
Sudden or suspicious deaths
What are drug classes based on?
The harm that the drug can cause to an individual or to society
