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Chapter 5: Hair

Chapter 5: Hair. “For three days after death, hair and fingernails continue to grow but phone calls taper off.” — Johnny Carson Comedian and television host. Introduction. Human hair- one of the most frequently found pieces of evidence Provides a link between the criminal and the crime

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Chapter 5: Hair

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  1. Chapter 5:Hair “For three days after death, hair and fingernails continue to grow but phone calls taper off.” —Johnny Carson Comedian and television host

  2. Introduction • Human hair- one of the most frequently found pieces of evidence • Provides a link between the criminal and the crime • From hair one can determine: • If the source is human or animal • Race (sometimes) • Origin of the location on the source’s body • Whether the hair was forcibly removed • If the hair has been treated with chemicals • If drugs have been ingested

  3. About Hair • Amount: • Blonds have the most: 120,000 strands • Redheads have the least: 80,000 • Brunets: 100,000 • Grows from follicle • Tube-like organ where root grows from • Linked to blood supply • Important if looking for poisons or drugs • Except for the follicle, hair is made of dead cells • Hair is constantly shed from body

  4. Skin Structure

  5. Hair Shaft Composed of polymers of keratin: • Large molecule with repeating units • Cuticle—outside covering, made of overlapping scales • Cortex—inner layer made of keratin and imbedded with pigment; also contains air sacs called cortical fusi • Medulla—inside layer running down the center of the cortex

  6. The Cuticle • Outermost layer • Covered in scales • The scales point toward the tip of the hair • Scales differ between species of animals The three basic patterns are: • Coronal • Spinous • Imbricate

  7. Coronal • Look like stacked cups • Found in rodents and bats • Rarely in humans Bat Tail Hair

  8. Spinous • Petal shaped- triangular • Point away from shaft • Never found in humans • Fur of mink, cats, seals, other small animals Mink Hair

  9. Imbricate • Overlapping scales, AKA flattened • Human and many animal hairs • Good website Mink Hair

  10. Human Scales In order to visualize the scales: • paint clear fingernail polish on a glass slide • when the polish begins to dry, place a hair on the polish • when almost dry, lift off the hair and observe the scale imprints What pattern is seen in this slide?

  11. The Medulla • Hair core • Comes in different types and patterns • Row of cells along the cortex • Usually not found in humans, mostly animals • If it is present, it is fragmented or interrupted • Types: • Intermittent or interrupted • Fragmented • Continuous • Stacked • Absent—not present

  12. Name that Pattern! Fragmented- Cat Hair Continuous- Horse Hair Stacked- Mouse Hair Continuous- Cow Hair Absent- Human Hair Interrupted- Cat Hair

  13. Name That Animal! • Cat

  14. Name That Animal! • Cow

  15. Name That Animal! • Deer

  16. Name That Animal! • Dog

  17. Name That Animal! • Horse

  18. Name That Animal! • Mouse

  19. Name That Animal! • Pig

  20. Name That Animal! • Rabbit

  21. Name That Animal! • Squirrel

  22. Name That Animal! • Human

  23. For more pictures: http://www.bsapp.com/forensics_illustrated/photos/unit_5_photos.htm • Hair ID activity • Hair ID quiz

  24. Medullary Index Determined by measuring the diameter of the medulla and dividing it by the diameter of the hair. • Medullary Index for human hair is generally less than 1/3. • For animal hair, it is usually greater than 1/2. mouse

  25. The Cortex • The cortex gives the hair shape • Main body of hair made from elongated cells It has two major characteristics: • Melanin—pigment granules that give hair its color • Cortical fusi—air spaces, usually found near the root but may be found throughout the hair shaft; give hair it’s characteristics

  26. Animal Vs Human • Animal hairs are much more diverse than human • One animal may contain several different kinds of hair • Good website Animal Human • Not uniform in color- banding • Pigment gets lighter toward tip • Larger medulla • Roots vary • Scales vary • Uniform in color • Smaller medulla • Roots are club-shaped • Usually imbricate

  27. Hair Shape • In general, Asian and Native American backgrounds have round cross section and no twisting (curl) • Caucasian, Mexican and Middle Eastern background usually oval; sometimes undulated (wavy or curly) • 25-125 micrometers in diameter

  28. Hair Shape Can be straight, curly or kinky depending on the cross-section, which may be round, oval or crescent-shaped Crescent moon (Kinky) Oval (Curly) Round (Straight)

  29. Hair Growth • Terminology • Anagen—hair that is actively growing; lasting up to 5 years (90 % of hair follicles) • Catagen—hair is not growing; a resting phase • Telogen—hair that is dying and ready to fall out; lasting two to six months (10 % follicles) • Grows about 0.5 mm per day or 1 centimeter per month; approximately one half inch per month • Grows from the root

  30. The Root • Human roots look different - whether they have been forcibly removed or if they are telogen hairs and have fallen out. Fallen out Forcibly removed

  31. Fallen Out Hairs bsapp.com

  32. Natural Tip bsapp.com

  33. Pulled Out-By the Root bsapp.com

  34. Broken-Torn bsapp.com

  35. Cut Hair bsapp.com

  36. Color Length Diameter Distribution, shape and color intensity of pigment granules Dyed hair has color in cuticle and cortex Bleaching removes pigment and gives a yellow tint Scale types Presence or absence of medulla Medullary type Medullary pattern Medullary index Hair Comparison Ways to compare human hair:

  37. DNA from Hair • The root contains nuclear DNA • Forcibly removed- some tissue may be attached containing DNA • Abundant mitochondrial DNA, inherited only from the mother • It can be typed by comparing relatives if no DNA from the body is available. • This process is more difficult and costly than using nuclear DNA.

  38. Collection of Hair • Questioned hairs must be accompanied by an adequate number of control samples. • from victim • from possible suspects • from others who may have deposited hair at the scene • Control Sample • 50 full-length hairs from all areas of scalp • 24 full-length pubic hairs

  39. Hair Toxicology • Advantages: • Easy to collect and store • Is externally available • Can provide information on the individual’s history of drug use or of poisoning. • Collections must be taken from different locations on the body to get an accurate timeline.

  40. Hair Toxicology • Drug analysis of hair backs up blood and urine tests because the drugs last long in the hair • Show environmental factors: if a person is in a smoky environment, it might appear as if they smoke • False Positive: test that comes out positive but should not

  41. Hair Dyes • Can be detected with infrared detectors • Example: ½ inch a month, on –inch segment of unbleached hair means the last treatment was two months earlier

  42. Hair Toxicology • Napoleon died in exile in 1821. By analyzing his hair, some investigators suggest he was poisoned by the deliberate administration of arsenic; others suggest that it was vapors from the dyes in the wallpaper that did him in.

  43. More about Hair For additional information about hair and other trace evidence, check out Court TV’s Crime Library at: www.crimelibrary.com/criminal_mind/forensics/trace/1.html

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