Maya Palanza

Palanza 1

4/13/16
Honors Anatomy and Physiology
Period 6
Bloodstain Pattern Types
The study and interpretation of bloodstains is a practice often
attributed to crime. This is not an unfair thoughtbloodstain analysis is used
to piece together the what, where and when of a crime scene after the fact.
Bloodstain pattern analysis (BPA) is a subjective area of study (at times).
Often, it is dependent on the experiences of the lead investigator, or the
investigator. The practice has only recently become useful, and is used today
to provide clues to the nature of an offense or crime. This includes the time,
location, sequence of events, and any abnormalities that occurred.
Bloodstain Pattern Analysts can position the perpetrators and victims, and
any other individuals and objects during the event. This can be used in court
cases as evidence. Bloodstain Pattern Analysis is a tool to catch and imprison
criminals. There is a plethora of bloodstain types. The synthesis varies with
the type. Depending on the velocity the blood was travelling, the distance it
travelled, the volume of blood, the angle of impact, and the material that it
lands on, the appearance of a bloodstain is alteredwhich in turn determines
their type. Appearance speaks of the way it was created.
Firstly, there are passive blood stains, or single drops. They are
droplets of blood that have typically fallen at a straight (90 to 70) angle.
They could have fallen from a person or object, and landed onto something

Maya Palanza

Palanza 2

4/13/16
Honors Anatomy and Physiology
Period 6
else. Blood shapes itself into the smallest form possible as it fallsit
maintains the form of a sphere until impact. The size and appearance of this
stain will depend on a myriad of factors, as previously stated. Obviously, the
volume of a single blood droplet varies, dependent upon the quantity of
blood present and the surface area available from which the drop is falling
(metal, skin, drywall and paint, brick, etcetera). The bigger the surface area
is, it allows for a larger drop of blood to form before falling. The droplets falls
from different heightsthey affect the size of the stain, with higher places
creating bigger bloodstains. The surface the blood impacts has a very
prominent effect, as well (see blood-material interaction weebly page). For
instance, a rough material results in stain distortion and even satellite stains
(additional stains radiating outwards). A drop of blood falling into an existing
bloodstain will result in a drip pattern.
Another blood pattern is the impact spatter. Impact bloodstains are
created when there is a forceful impact between an object and wet blood,
causing the blood to break into smaller droplets. The stronger the force, the
smaller the droplets produced. The density of the blood drops deceases as
they move further away from the source of the blood. Impact spatter
interpretation offers insights into the relative positions of people and objects
during a crime. The cast-off bloodstain is also a blood pattern. Cast-off stains

Maya Palanza

Palanza 3

4/13/16
Honors Anatomy and Physiology
Period 6
occur when centrifugal force causes blood to fall from a bloodied object in
motion. It is noteworthy that an end to a cast-off pattern could be the result
of sudden deceleration of the moving object. When blood is cast from an
object it produces patterns of numerous individual blood drops forming a
curved or straight line. When an object is repeatedly moved, each movement
will cast off less blood, as the volume of the blood decreases with every
swing. If stains are created in this way, the analysis of these bloodstains is
particularly difficult. There is an extreme amount of variety in the patterns
produced. Depending on the bloodied objects motion, cast-off blood stains
are relatively straight. Transfer bloodstains are patterns produced when a
bloody surface makes contact with another, non-bloody surface. This
transfers blood to the non-bloodied surface. These stains are particularly
tellingtheir presence is beneficial in interpreting a scene, and establishing
a sequence of events. It is even possible to figure out what the bloodied
object that caused the transfer stain was. For example, if a pattern is
produced that can be traced to a bloody object. Similarly, such bloodstains
may be left by the hands of a witness, perpetrator, or accomplice opening
the possibility of fingerprint evidence.
As well as passive, impact, cast-off, and transfer stains, there are
arterial damage bloodstains, or projected pattern stains. These are created

Maya Palanza

Palanza 4

4/13/16
Honors Anatomy and Physiology
Period 6
when pressurized blood is shot onto a surface, in the event that an artery is
punctured. If wounded in the carotid artery, the radial artery, the femoral
artery, the brachial artery, the temporal artery or the aorta (though it is
unlikely that one would find themselves with a wounded aorta, due to the
protection offered by the ribcage) arterial bloodstains may occur. If an artery
is punctured, the heart still continues to pump blood. It is shot out of the
wounded area. As it travels, it breaks up into smaller parts. Bloodstains
produced will usually represent the how the heart was beating, as the blood
is discharged from the wound periodically. There are a multitude of factors
that affect the bloodstainwhether or not the victim was moving, where on
the body the injury occurred and the extent of the wound. A smaller puncture
results in smaller blood droplets produced. As such, they are lighter and less
affected by gravity, allowing them to travel farther than bigger drops would.
Another type of stain is the pool stain. Pool stains are accumulated blood on
any particular surface. Often, they are the result of prolonged bleeding, or an
abundance of arterial blood. If a body is not at the crime scene it is possible
to give a rough estimate of the condition of a persons statusalive or dead
based on the volume of blood present. If a body is not present at the
incident scene, depending on the quantity of blood present.

Maya Palanza

Palanza 5

4/13/16
Honors Anatomy and Physiology
Period 6
A common type of bloodstain in the insect bloodstain. These
bloodstains result from insect activity, as the name suggest. Though it is
often overlooked in media, insects are often present at crime scenes,
especially ones involving blood. Flies will consume the blood and tissue at a
crime scene, and will also (but only following regurgitation or excretion)
produce small, circular stains. These stains are known as flyspeck. An insect
could walk through blood, as well. This, combined with flyspeck, could be
mistaken for other bloodstains. The last type of bloodstain is the expiration
stain. This bloodstain is often found when the respiratory tract has been
injured. Expiration stains are caused by blood being spat out of the mouth,
coughed, or spit out of the mouth any other way. These stains usually do not
contain just bloodthere is salvia or mucous combined with it, as well.
Expirated bloodstains have the appearance of a red mist. It could also
appear to look like small, round stains.