Identification from trace element

• Many a times, something contaminated with

material help in medicolegal and other forensic
investigation.
•For eg., when a weapon is found stained with blood
of victim. Then by matching that blood of weapon to
the victim it is said that, that weapon is used for
homicide. This blood stains act as a trace element.
•Edmond Locard, a lawyer and doctor said that every
criminal leaves some elements at the scene of crime.
These are the trace element in case of criminal
investigation.
1. blood:
- Examination of blood and blood stains has
importance in both civil and criminal cases, even in
identification of an individual and in medicolegal
cases.
- Medicolegal imp:
1. Civil importance:
a. Paternity & maternity issues
b. Divorce & nullity of marriage
c. Compensation cases related to workmen’s welfare
d. Civil negligence issue in hospital or medical
practice.
2. Criminal importance:
a. Identification of victim or offender in crime like
homicide, sexual offence or negligence act of a
person who is expected to have responsibility.
b. Cause of death in poisoning or some other
pathology.
c. Time of death from chemical & biochemical tests.
d. Criminal abortion cases
e. Sex offence cases
f. To establish the relationship between offence,
offender & victim and weapon
g. Malingering.
2. Abnormal haemoglobin
- There are 3 varieties of normal haemoglobins: i)
haemoglobin A, ii) haemoglobin A2, iii) haemoglobin
F.
- Abnormal haemoglobin: i) haemoglobin H(β₄) &
haemoglobin Barts(γ₄), ii) haemoglobin S,
haemoglobin C, haemoglobin E, haemoglobin D
punjab
- Medicolegal importance:
a. Haemoglobin A1 & A2 are normal in adults and
children above 2 yrs.
b. Haemoglobin F is normal in new born and decreases
up to 2 yrs. This point also determine the age in
c. Abnormal haemoglobin have importance as being
natural cause of death.
d. Inheritance of abnormal Hb have importance in
deciding paternity & maternity disputes.
e. Abnormal Hb have importance for identification of
person in other circumstances.

3. Seminal fluid:
- Medicolegal importance:
1. Civil cases:
a. Compensation on ground of acquired sterility.
b. Disputed paternity
c. Legitimacy
d. Artificial insemination
e. Compensation on the ground of failure of
vasectomy cases, leads to pregnancy in wife.
f. Divorce cases – non ejaculation amounts to
impotence.

2. Criminal cases: In relation to sexual offence:

a. Confirming sexual offence.
b. Identification of offender.
3. Saliva stains:
- Saliva can be an evidence of sexual offence. Where
oral contact is alleged like bite marks on sex organs
and cigarette buts discarded at the scene of crime
or glass of drink.
i) Suspected stain due to saliva can be confirmed by:
a. Presence of buccal squamous cells.
b. Detection of amylase.
ii) From buccal mucosa cells, sex of a person can be
identified from Barr bodies.
iii) The blood group can be known by mixed
agglutination test from buccal squamous cells
4. Vaginal fluid:
a. In case of rape, detection of semen, blood & group
specific substance like ABH & PGM1.
b. Examination of vaginal epithelial cells to know
accurate sex in gonadal dysgenesis.
c. Presence of vaginal epithelial cells on glans penis
of accused in case of rape.
d. Vaginal stain extract is examined for poisons in
case of criminal abortion.
e. DNA test.

5. Faecal stains:
• Faecal stains are confirmed by microscopic
examination and presence of urobilinogen,
vegetable cells and muscle fibres.
a) Faecal test is necessary in case of sodomy
b) DNA test.
c) Presence of poison.

6. Urine test: urine stains are confirmed by presence

of urease.
a. Study of blood group.
b. Many poisons are excreted in urine & can be
detected easily.
7. Examination of skin:
- It helps in knowing sex, group of person and
detection of some poison.

8. Examination of tooth pulp:

- Helps in knowing sex, blood group & DNA profile.

9. Examination of nail & dandruff:

- From nails, poisons ( heavy metal like ars), debris,
mud in nail.
- May give sex and blood group of a person.