Body Fluids Flashcards

1
Q

Name the 6 principal body fluid stains.

A
Blood
Saliva
Semen
Urine
Faeces
Vomitus
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2
Q

Violent crime stains

A

Blood=clothing, weapon/individual

Saliva=clothing

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3
Q

Volume crime stains

A

Blood=broken glass
Saliva=cigarette butt
Faeces

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4
Q

Sexual assault stains

A

Semen=clothing, bedding, a swab of vagina, anus
Saliva= clothing, skin
Vaginal= digital or penile swap
Faeces= digital or penile swap

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5
Q

Stain colour

A
Saliva=off white
Semen= off white
Blood= red/brown
Urine=yellowish
Faeces=brownish
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6
Q

Alternative light sources

A

Most organic materials fluoresce under certain wavelengths
Blue/green useful
Rapid and inexpensive
unlikely to cause damage to DNA (except UV)

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7
Q

Body fluid testing protocol

A
  • where+what?=presumptive
  • human?=confirmatory
  • whose?=HID testing
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8
Q

Kastle Meyer evidential value and cost

A

cheap
simple
rapid(2mins)
limited evidential value

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9
Q

RSID evidential value and cost

A

variable price
complex
rapidity variable
greated evidential value

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10
Q

HID evidential value and cost

A
expense variable (DB=£35, volume crime=£250, FISH/LMD= £10,000)
rapidity variable (min 8 hours, 3-5 days standard)
extremely strong evidential value)
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11
Q

What does blood transport?

What other roles does blood have?

A

O2
nutrients
waste

osmolarity
temperature regulation
immunity/injury functions

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12
Q

What is the scientific name for red blood cells?

A

erythrocytes

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13
Q

What percentage of blood volume are RBC’s?

A

48%

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14
Q

Do RBC’s have DNA?

A

no

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15
Q

What do RBC’s consist of?

A

membrane, haemoglobin (iron-containing metalloprotein, 4 subunits), cytoplasm

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16
Q

What is the scientific name for White blood cells?

A

Leucocytes

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17
Q

What percentage of blood volume are WBC’s?

A

1%

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18
Q

What is the role of WBC’s?

A

protect the body from infection

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19
Q

What is the structure of WBC’s?

A

nucleated

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20
Q

Name 4 subtypes of white blood cells?

A

macrophages, lymphocytes(B+T), neutrophil, eosinophil

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21
Q

What is the scientific name for platelets?

A

Thrombocytes

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22
Q

What are platelets?

A

blood clotting, non-nucleated, cell fragments formed in bone marrow, injury allows platelets to become activates, change of shape, causes clumping

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23
Q

Name 4 blood presumptive tests?

A

Kastle Meyer
Leucomalachite green
luminol/blue star (at scenes)
tetramethylbenzidine (hemastix)

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24
Q

What is the equation which shows peroxidase activity?

A

2H2O2—>2H20+02

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25
Q

Kastle Meyer

A

pink

1) ethanol = increases sensitivity
2) Kastle Meyer
3) hydrogen peroxide

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26
Q

Leucomalachite green

A

blue/green

1) leucomalachite green
2) hydrogen peroxide

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27
Q

Hemastix

A
green/blue/black
1 part testing kit containing:
-tetramethylbenzidine
-disopropylbenzene dihydroperoxide
originally designed for detection of blood in urine
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28
Q

Luminol

A
fluorescent reaction
single spray containing:
-luminol
-sodium perborate
-water+sodium carbonate
sprayed directly
may dilute stain
luminol oxidised to 3-aminophthalate
gives fluorescence in 30secs
used when staining is not visible
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29
Q

What are 5 drawbacks of presumptive tests?

A
only indicators
lack sensitivity
too sensitive in some cases
non-human specific
false positives and false negative reactions
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30
Q

What are 5 false positives of blood?

A
horseradish
potato
red onion
tomato
bleach
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31
Q

What percentage of saliva is water?

A

99% water

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32
Q

What is the pH range of saliva?

A

6.8-7

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33
Q

What enzyme is in salvia that helps break down food?

A

alpha-amylase

34
Q

What are the functions of saliva?

A

allows bows formation
aids passage of food and begins digestion of starches
bioindicator
-alpha-amylase
-found in saliva+pancreas
-beta amylase present in some microorganisms

35
Q

What is the test for starch in saliva?

A

Starch-iodine test

36
Q

What colour indicates a positive result in the starch-iodine test?

A

blue/purple then yellow/brown when starch has been digested by amylase present

37
Q

How do you locate and test if saliva is present?

A

phadebas amylase tests, phadebas paper, amylopectin coupled to blue dye immobilised onto paper, when placed on sample + incubated, saliva will cause the dye to separate from paper, producing blue spot.

38
Q

What are the 3 fluids present in semen?

A

seminal fluid (60-70%)
fluid from prostate (25-30%)
speratazoa (2-5%)

39
Q

What is it called when a male produces very few sperm?

A

Oligospermia

40
Q

What is it called when a male produces no sperm?

A

Azoospermia

41
Q

Semen

A

contains cellular, organic and inorganic constituents
high level of certain enzymes
fluoresces under UV light
direct observation under the microscope

42
Q

What is the presumptive test for semen?

A

Acid phosphatase test

43
Q

What are the two solutions added in the acid phosphatase test?

A

Sodium a-napthyl acid phosphatase

o-dianisdine

44
Q

What are the results/colours you can receive in the acid phosphatase test?

A
Positive = purple (10-15 secs)
Negative = no colour change
Inconclusive = slow development of colour
45
Q

What is the confirmatory test for semen?

A

semen microscopy

46
Q

Characteristics of human sperm

A

length = 50-70 microns
head = pear shaped
4-5um long, 2-3um wide

47
Q

What are the two most common stains for semen microscopy?

A
H&E - Hematoxylin/Eosin
-stains sperm blue/purple
Christmas tree stain
-dyes heads red
-dyes tails green
48
Q

What is the presumptive test for faeces?

A

responds to Edelman’s test for Urobilinogen
causes fluorescent reaction
can normally tell by colour, texture, smell

49
Q

What is the presumptive test for urine?

A

test for pepsin

50
Q

Is urine acidic or alkaline?

A

acidic

51
Q

Is urine likely or unlikely to produce a DNA profile?

A

unlikely

52
Q

What are the two substances that urine mostly consists of?

A

water and salts

53
Q

Test for urine?

A

reacts with DMAC to form purple colour

creatine (pritric acid forms red colouration)

54
Q

What are the strengths of presumptive tests?

A

speed
cost
location
simple

55
Q

What are the weaknesses of presumptive tests?

A

non-specific
false positives and negatives
weak evidential value
can dilute stain

56
Q

What is serology?

A

confirmatory method specific to blood products

  • blood grouping
  • ABO testing
  • rhesus testing
57
Q

Name a disease that can affect the immune system.

A

AIDS

Guillain-Barre syndrome

58
Q

Is immunity innate or acquired?

A

both, some immunity is innate and some are acquired.
born with immunity to certain pathogens
learns pathogenic materials

59
Q

What are antibodies?

A

immunoglobulins

complex proteins that bind to specific foreign molecules

60
Q

What are 5 variants of immunoglobins?

A
IgA = mucus, prevents pathogens into body openings
IgD = antigen receptor on B cells
IgE = allergy response, binds to allergens + triggers release of histamine
IgG = immunity against invading pathogens, this type is passed to foetus across the placenta. 
IgM = present on B cells, used before IgG levels are sufficient to respond
61
Q

What is an antigen?

A

antibody generating molecule
protein/polysaccharide molecule
present on cell membranes of invading organisms

62
Q

Antibody-antigen behaviour

A

bind to specific antigens
inactivates antigen
forms insoluble clump

63
Q

Immunochemical testing

A

make antibodies to specific antigen
mix with sample, sample diffuses towards antibodies
if antigen antibody match, solid formed

64
Q

Species testing

A

inoculate suitable animal with human antigen + adjurant to increase response
anti-human antibodies produced
antibodies isolated, found in serum
mix antibodies with suspected human sample
if sample human-derived, reaction occurs

65
Q

Monoclonal antibodies

A
innoculate animal with antigen
antibodies produced in spleen, removed
fuse with myleoma cells
-immortal bone cancer cells
-produces hybridoma cells
grow on culture
-harvest antibodies
-cheap and minimal animal point
66
Q

What is blood grouping?

A

classification system based on presence or absence of antigens on blood cell membranes

  • inherited
  • antigens may be present on other cells
67
Q

Name 3 systems of blood grouping.

A

ABO
Rhesus
Lewis

68
Q

When and who developed the ABO system?

A

1900 by Landsteiner

69
Q

Which antigen do cells have if the person is A group?

A

A-antigen

70
Q

What antigen do cells have if the person is B group?

A

B-antigen

71
Q

What antigen do cells have if the person is O group?

A

H-antigen (precursor)

72
Q

What chromosome is the inherited trait for blood grouping carried on?

A

chromosome 9

73
Q

Out of ABO, which are co-dominant, which are recessive

A

A and B are co-dominant, O is recessive

74
Q

ABO testing

A

uses anti-serum raised against human antigens
formation of precipitate
human specific

75
Q

What continent is blood group A common in?

A

European

76
Q

What continent is blood group B common in?

A

Central Asia, India, Russia

77
Q

What continent is blood group O common in?

A

Brazil

78
Q

Rhesus system

A

1938-40
another blood antigen
85% +ve
15% -ve

79
Q

Secretor status

A

80% of caucasions secrete ABO blood group antigens in body fluids
Se=dominant, secretor
se=recessive, non-secretor

80
Q

ELISA-Enzyme -linked immuno sorbent assay (confirmatory test)

A

performed on a microtiter plate
plate coated with antibodies that bind to analyte
sample added , antigens bind to antibodies
second detector antibody added that binds to bound analyte (enzyme also bound)
coloured material added, positive = colour

81
Q

Lateral flow strip tests (confirmatory test)

A

sample added to sample pod
capillary action causes to flow into conjugate pod
conjugate bound sample continues
melts first test line
if antigen present, binds producing coloured line.
remaining sample continues and bind to second line

82
Q

RSID kits

A
blood, semen, saliva, urine
absorb stain on swab
extract in provided extraction buffer
mix extract aliquot with running buffer
add to RSID kit