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Blood and Bloodstains: Harry Danny L. Aspillaga Instructor Forensic Chemistry and Toxicology

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184 views

Blood and Bloodstains: Harry Danny L. Aspillaga Instructor Forensic Chemistry and Toxicology

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Harry Danny Aspillaga
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© © All Rights Reserved
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BLOOD AND

BLOODSTAINS
HARRY DANNY L. ASPILLAGA
Instructor
FORENSIC CHEMISTRY AND TOXICOLOGY
Blood has been called the
circulating tissue of the body. It
is referred to as complex mixture
of cells, enzymes, proteins, and
inorganic substances. It is the
red fluid of the blood vessels.
Blood is opaque. On treatment
with either, water or reagents
becomes transparent and
assumes lake color. It is faintly
alkaline. Normal pH is 7.35 to 7.
45.
Physical Characteristics of Blood
· Color range
·Oxygen-rich blood is scarlet red
·Oxygen-poor blood is dull red
· pH must remain between 7.35–7.45
· Slightly alkaline
· Blood temperature is slightly higher than
body temperature
· 5-6 Liters or about 6 quarts /body
Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Benjamin Cummings Slide 10.2
• Blood makes up 6–8% of our
total body weight.

• Normal adult blood volume is 5 L.

• Blood is made up of cellular


material in a fluid called plasma.
Functions of Blood

A. Blood, a type of connective tissue, is a


complex mixture of cells, chemicals,
and fluid.
B. Blood transports substances
throughout the body, and helps to
maintain a stable internal
environment.
Composition of Blood

1. 45% Formed elements or the solid materials


consisting chiefly of cells.
• Each type of blood cell performs a different function.

• Red blood cells (Erythrocytes)

• White blood cells (Leukocytes)

• Platelets (Thrombocytes)
Red Blood Cells
• Erythrocytes or RBCs
— Most abundant cell in the blood
(4 million – 6 million per microliter of blood)
— Formed in the bone marrow
— Mature forms do NOT have a nucleus
— Shaped as biconcave disks
— 6-8 micrometers in diameter
—Life span of about 120 days
— Hemoglobin (iron protein)is
found in the RBC
— Hemoglobin carries oxygen from the
lungs to the rest of the body and carbon
dioxide binds to the RBC and is taken to
the lungs to be exhaled.
White Blood Cells
• Leukocytes or WBCs
— Largest sized blood cells
— Lowest numbers in the blood
(4,500 – 11,000 per microliter)
— Formed in the bone marrow
and some in lymph glands
— Primary cells of the immune system
— Fights disease and foreign invaders
—Contain nuclei with DNA,
the shape depends on type of cell
— Certain WBCs produce antibodies
— Life span is from 24 hours to several years
—Size is 8-20 micrometers in diameter
—There are five different types of WBCs
1. Neutrophils
2. Eosinophils
3. Basophils
4. Lymphocytes
5. Monocytes
Platelets

— Thrombocytes or PLTs

— Formed in the bone marrow

— Fragments from the cytoplasm of megakaryocytes

— Smallest of the blood cells

— 1-4 micrometers in diameter

— Shape can be round, oval, or appear spiky

— Life span of around 8-12 days


• Platelets
— Involved in the clotting process

— Seal wounds and prevent blood loss

— Help repair damaged vessels

— 150,000 – 400,000 per microliter of blood

—Platelets stain bluish with reddish or purple granules


2. 55 % Plasma

• Plasma is the clear, straw-colored fluid portion of the


blood.
• 1. Plasma is mostly water but contains a variety of
substances.
• 2. Plasma functions to transport nutrients and gases,
regulate fluid and electrolyte balance, and maintain a
favorable pH.
Plasma proteins are not used for energy and fall into
three groups--albumins, globulins, and fibrinogen.

• a. The albumins help maintain the osmotic pressure of


theblood and account for 60% of the plasma proteins.
• b. The globulins, comprising 36% of the plasma
proteins, are designated as alpha, beta, and gamma
globulins.

i. Alpha and beta globulins function in transporting


lipids and fat-soluble vitamins.
ii. Gamma globulins are a type of antibody.

• c. Fibrinogen (4%) plays a primary role in blood


coagulation.
Importance of the study of Blood
1. As circumstantial or corroborative evidence against in
favor of the perpetrator.
2. As evidence in case of disputed parentage.
3. As evidence in the determination of the cause of death
and the length of victim survived the attack.
4. As evidence in the determination of the direction of the
case of victim or the assailant.
5. As evidence in the determination of the origin of flow of
blood.
6. As evidence in the determination of the approximate
time crime was committed.
PROBLEMS IN THE STUDY OF BLOOD

Where blood to be searched?


Collection, preservation, packing and
transportation of specimen suspected to
contain blood.
Does the stain contain blood or
another substance?
The Chronological Test for Blood
• Preliminary Test - determines whether the
stains contain blood or another substance.
• Confirmatory – test that possibly identify
blood.
• Precipitin Test – determines whether the
stain is on human or animal origin.
• Blood Grouping Test – determines the blood
group in human blood.
Preliminary Test for Blood
A. The Benzidine Test
An extremely sensitive test that can be applied to minute stain. For
many years the most commonly used preliminary test for blood.
E. The Luminol Test
An important presumptive
identification for blood. The rection
of luminal with blood results in the
production of light rather than
color. By spraying luminal reagent
into a suspected item.
Luminol test is extremely sensitive
test.

Positive Result : Luminescence or


emission of light.
PRINCIPLE INVOLVED IN THE FOUR
PRELIMINARY COLOR TEST FOR BLOOD

The peroxidase present in hemoglobin acts as a


carrier of oxygen from the hydrogen peroxide to the
active ingredients of the reagents (benzidine, guaiac,
phenolphthalein and leucomalachite) and produces
the characteristic colored compounds by oxidation.

Peroxidase – is an enzyme that accelerates the


oxidation of several classes of compounds by
peroxide.
II. THE CONFIRMATORY TEST FOR
BLOOD

The Three Confirmatory for Blood

1. Microscopic Test
2. Microchemical Test or Microcrystalline Test
3. Spectroscopic Test
2. The Microchemical Test and
Microcrystalline Test for Blood

The Three Microchemical Test and Microcrystalline


Test for Blood includes:

a. Teicmann Haemin Reaction or Teicmann Test or


Haemin Crystal Test
b. Acetone – Haemin Test
c. Haemochromogen Crystal Test or Takayama Test
a. Teicmann Test

A confirmatory test for blood based on


the formation of distinctive haematin
crystals that are viewed under a
microscope. The reagents typically used
are sodium chloride and glacial acetic
acid.
How is the Teichmann test performed?

The Teichmann's test, the reagent are formed


by the combination KCl, KBr and KI at about
0.1g each in 100ml of Glacial acetic acid. The
reagent react with hemoglobin and give
brownish rhombic crystal, Confirms the
presence of blood. material to be tested on a
microscopic slide and cover with a cover slip.
b. The Acetone-Haemin Test

A presumptive test for blood in which a small amount of


acetone (propenal) is added to the bloodstain, followed by a drop
of hydrochloric acid. Haemoglobin produces derivatives such as
haematin and haemin, forming small characteristic crystals that
can be identified under a microscope.
c. The Haemochromogen Crystal
Test or Takayama Test

A takayama test, also known as hemochromogen crystal


assay, is used to determine if blood is present in a sample of
interest. This assay is used by experimenters, or investigators
of crime scenes, to confirm if an unknown sample indeed
contains blood.
3. The Spectroscope Test for Blood
A spectroscopic method is described whereby the percentage
oxygen saturation of hemoglobin within intact corpuscles can be
determined. A complete oxygen dissociation curve can be determined
with 1 to 2 cc. of whole blood.
III. THE PRECIPITIN TEST
Bernstein's Theory of Blood Group
Inheritance
The M-N System Blood Group

The MN blood group system is under the control of an


autosomal locus found on chromosome 4, with two alleles
designated LM and LN. The blood-type is due to a glycoprotein
present on the surface of red blood cells, which behaves as a
native antigen.

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