Unit 5: Blood Splatter Flashcards
What are the 4 main components of blood?
- Plasma
- Red blood cells
- White blood cells
- Platelets
Made of cells and plasma
Name 2 functions of blood…
- Transporting oxygen and nutrients to the lungs and tissues
- Forming blood clots to prevent excess blood loss
What does it mean by whole blood?
The blood that runs through the veins, arteries and capillaries (55% plasma, 45% blood)
How many pints of blood does an average person have?
Man: 12
Woman: 9
What are the 4 major blood types?
A, AB, B, O
What antigen does group A have?
Antigen A
What antigen does group B have?
Antigen B
What antigen does group AB have?
A and B antigens
What antigen does group O have?
Neither
How are the blood groups broken down to create 8 different blood types?
Rh factor; if the antigen Rh is present the blood is Rh+ and if not the blood is Rh -
What is the role of the white blood cells in terms of antibodies in Blood Type A blood?
The persons white blood cells will make antibodies against the B antigen (anti-B)
What causes the clumping of the blood when testing for blood type?
With anti-A, anti-B, or anti-Rh antibodies and seeing which antibodies make it clump together
What does it mean if an unknown blood sample “clumps” when exposed to anti-A?
That the blood has A (but not B) antigens mainly that person type A
What are antigens?
Are carbohydrates that are attached to RBC’s
What does it mean when you are Blood Type B?
Your cells have B antigens attached, so your body makes antibodies against only type A
Who can Blood Type B donate to?
AB, B
Why is AB blood unique
You can receive blood from a donor with any blood type (cells don’t make antibodies towards anything)
How is O blood unique?
- Can donate blood to anybody (universal donor)
- But can only receive from type O because cells make antibodies against both type A and B antigens
How do crime scene investigators use blood typing?
- To eliminate someone from a crime scene
- To narrow down the suspect pool
What is forensic serology?
Is the study of blood applied to crime
What can blood splatter patterns be used for?
- To reconstruct a crime scene
- Show how the attack was made
- Blood can connect an object with a crime (ex. discarded weapon)
- Blood can connect a suspect with a crime (ex. blood on clothing) or place a suspect at a crime scene
What type of evidence is blood typing?
Class evidence and is useful to rule out suspects
What type of evidence is DNA profiling?
Is considered to be individual evidence and can help pinpoint a suspect
What is blood?
Blood is a tissue that circulates around through the body
Is blood made mostly of plasma?
True (55%)
Where are blood cells made?
In the bone marrow
What is red bone marrow?
Red bone marrow produces red and white blood cells and platelets, is found in humerus, femur, sternum, ribs, vertebrae, and pelvis
Where is yellow bone marrow?
Yellow bone marrow in other bones contains stored fat
What are RBC’s?
-RBCs are erythrocytes
- They contain hemoglobin and carry oxygen and carbon dioxide
- Hemoglobin is an iron-containing protein that binds to oxygen and gives blood its red colour
- They have no nucleus and no nuclear DNA
What are WBC’s?
- Called leukocytes
- They are immune system cells that fight diseases and produce antibodies
- They are the only blood cells that contain DNA; therefore are the only blood cell useful in DNA profiling
What are the 2 most common types of WBC’s?
Lymphocytes: are made in lymphoid tissue in the spleen, lymph nodes, and thymus gland. Lymphocytes identify foreign substances from germs (bacteria or viruses) in the body and produce antibodies and cells that specifically target them
Neutrophils: kill and digest bacteria and fungi. They are the most numerous type of white blood cells and your first line of defense when infection strikes. They move out of blood vessels into infected tissue to attack the bacteria. Pus is made up largely of neutrophils. Normally a serious bacterial infection causes the body to produce an increased number of neutrophils, resulting in a higher-than-normal white blood cell count
What are platelets?
- Called thrombocytes
- They are small cell fragments that assist in blood clotting and repair damaged blood vessels
What is blood plasma?
The yellowish portion of blood
- Plasma is made up of 90% water. The other 10% are…
- Dissolved proteins (antibodies, hormones, clotting factors)
- Nutrients (O2, glucose, amino acids, salts, minerals)
- Wastes (urea, CO2)
What do arteries do?
Carry blood away from the heart
What do capillaries do?
Very small vessels, capillaries supply cells with nutrients then remove wastes
What do veins do?
They are large vessels called veins, veins carry blood towards the heart
What does blood typing do?
Blood typing identifies the presence or absence of particular proteins embedded in the cell
Why does the forensics team go to blood typing before DNA testing?
- It is quicker and less expensive than DNA profiling
- The presence or absence of cell-surface proteins determines a person’s blood type
What are antigens?
A and B proteins are found on the surface of some RBCs
If a person’s blood cells have A antigen proteins they have…
Type A blood
If a person’s blood cells have B antigen proteins they have…
Type B blood
If a person’s blood cells have both A and B antigen proteins they have…
Type AB blood
If a person’s blood cells have neither A nor B antigen proteins they have…
Type O blood
How do you determine blood type…
One would preform an antigen test and look for agglutination (clumping)
What does it mean when you have the Rh protein…
Means you have Rh+ positive blood
What does it mean when you don’t have the Rh protein?
This means you have Rh- blood
Why is Rh called that?
Because it was first discovered in 1940 in Rhesus monkeys
Where are antigens found?
Antigens are found in red blood cells and (foreign cell) membranes
Where are antibodies found?
Antibodies are found in blood plasma
What is the Antigen-Antibody Response?
When a foreign material enters your body, your immune system launches an attack called an antigen-antibody response in which WBCs called B-lymphocytes release antibodies to attack the foreign substance