Hair identification under microscope

Slide preparation for identifying hair

• Prepare a wet mount, using human hair (already cut).
• Find a hair strand and prepare a slide, using water.
• Be sure to cover slip the end of your hair (the part of hair that contains the
root).
• Clean slide before preparing a second slide. Prepare at least 2 different
slides (specimens A, B, C, or D). Always start under low power and focus
before switching to high power!
• Draw/sketch what you see in the space(s) provided (in the circles
provided). Label which hair specimens you have prepared AND which
power used (on the lines provided).
• Clean slides.
The Study
of Hair
 Significance of Hair identification
• Identify the various parts of a hair.
• Describe variations in the structure of
the medulla, cortex, and cuticle.
• Distinguish between human and animal
hair.
• Calculate the medullary index for a hair.
• Identify the animal based on the hair
characteristics as an indirect evidence
The structure of a hair shaft is similar to that of a pencil
 Vocabulary
• medulla the central core of a
hair fiber

• cortex the region of a hair

located outside of the medulla
containing granules of pigment

• cuticle the tough outer covering

of a hair composed of
overlapping scales
• hair follicle the actively growing root or base of a hair containing
DNA & living cells
• keratin a type of fibrous protein that makes up the majority of the
cortex of a hair
THE CUTICLE
• The cuticle is a transparent outer layer of the hair shaft. It is made of
scales that overlap one another and protect the inner layers of the hair.

• The scales point from the proximal end of the hair, which is closest to
the scalp, to the distal end, which is farthest from the scalp (shows the
younger and older ends of the hair)
• Human hair has cuticle scales that are flattened and narrow, also called
imbricate.
• The coronal, or crown-like scale pattern, is found in hairs of very fine
diameter and resemble a stack of paper cups. Coronal scales are
commonly found in the hairs of small rodents and bats but rarely in
human hairs.

Free-tailed bat hair

• Spinous or petal-like scales are triangular in shape and protrude from the
hair shaft. They are found at the proximal region of mink hairs and on the
fur hairs of seals, cats, and some other animals. They are never found in
human hairs.

Proximal hair of mink

• The imbricate or flattened-scale type consists of overlapping scales with
narrow margins. They are commonly found in human hairs and many
animal hairs.

Dog hair 400× Deer hair 400×

• Animal pigments are often found in solid masses
called ovoid bodies, especially in dogs and cattle
• The medulla of animal hair is much larger than in
human hair, and it is always continuous.

Human hair
Cattle hair
•Animal hair has different types of cuticles. The
pattern of the pigmentation can vary widely in
different animals. hairs can change color abruptly in a
banded pattern
• In animals, the medulla is much larger than it is in
humans-”the ratio of the diameter of the medulla to
the diameter of the entire hair is known as the
medullary index”. If the medullary index is 0.5 or
greater, the hair came from an animal.
Differences between animal and human hair
• Color-human hair is more continuous in colouring versus animal hair
is often banded.
• Pigment concentration: Human hair has even distribution of pigment
throughout cortex, while animal hair is more concentrated toward the
center/medulla area.
• Medullary Index: Animal hair ratio of medulla to shaft diameter is
much greater than humans—1/2 or more the width of the shaft!
• Cuticle patterns: Human hair is imbricate pattern, while animals can
have a range including coronal and spinous.
Check Questions:
• Crime-scene investigators collected hair from a dead
person’s body. One of the first things that needs to be
established is if this hair is human or animal. Describe
two ways that animal hair differs from human hair.