This document discusses blood analysis and bloodstain pattern analysis. It begins by defining key terms and listing learning targets. It then discusses the components of whole blood, blood typing and factors, and various blood tests. It explains how to analyze bloodstain patterns to determine things like the type of force, direction of travel, and whether spatter or transfer occurred. It stresses the importance of properly collecting and preserving biological evidence from crime scenes.

1. Learning Targets:
1. Define the key terminologies of the lesson.
2. Enumerate the different types of tests for blood.
3. Define bloodstain pattern analysis (BSPA).
4. Explain the importance of bloodstain pattern analysis.
Module/Lesson 11
Blood Analysis
(Book: Chapter XX – pages 175-179)

2. Blood and bloodstains are very vital as evidence in crimes of violence.
 as circumstantial or corroborative evidence against or in favor of the
perpetrator.
 as evidence in case of disputed parentage.
 as evidence in the determination of the cause of death.
 as evidence in the determination of the origin of flow of blood.
 as evidence in the determination of the approximate time the crime was
committed.

3. Components of Whole Blood
Withdraw blood and
place in tube
1 2 Centrifuge
Plasma
(55% of whole blood)
Formed
elements
Buffy coat:
leukocyctes and
platelets
(<1% of whole blood)
Erythrocytes
(45% of whole blood)

5. • PLASMA  This is the yellowish liquid portion of blood that
contains electrolytes, nutrients and vitamins, hormones,
clotting factors, and proteins such as antibodies to fight
infection.
• RED BLOOD CELLS (Erythrocytes)
 The most abundant cells in our blood; they are produced
in the bone marrow and contain a protein called hemoglobin
that carries oxygen to our cells.
• WHITE BLOOD CELLS (Leukocytes)
 They are part of the immune system and destroy
infectious agents called pathogens.
• PLATELETS (Thrombocytes)
 The clotting factors that are carried in the plasma; they
clot together in a process called coagulation to seal a wound
and prevent a loss of blood.

7. Erythrocytes (RBCs)

8. Red Blood Cells (Erythrocytes)
Have no nucleus
• - Not useful for DNA analysis
6-8 µm in size
~45% total volume of blood
Most abundant cell in the blood

9. Genetics of Blood Types
• Your blood type is established before you are
BORN, by specific GENES inherited from your
parents.
• You inherit one gene from your MOTHER and
one from your FATHER.
• These genes determine your blood type by
causing proteins called AGGLUTINOGENS to
exist on the surface of all of your red blood cells.

11. Blood Typing
• When serum containing anti-A or anti-B
agglutinins is added to blood, agglutination
will occur between the agglutinin and the
corresponding agglutinogens.
• Positive reactions indicate agglutination (or
clumping)

12. Blood Typing
Blood type
being tested
RBC
agglutinogens
Serum Reaction
Anti-A Anti-B
AB A and B + +
B B – +
A A + –
O None – –

13. No clumping
Clumping

14. Rh Factors
• Scientists sometimes study Rhesus
monkeys to learn more about the human
anatomy because there are certain
similarities between the two species. While
studying Rhesus monkeys, a certain blood
protein was discovered. This protein is also
present in the blood of some people. Other
people, however, do not have the protein.
• The presence of the protein, or lack of it, is
referred to as the Rh (for Rhesus) factor.
• If your blood does contain the protein, your
blood is said to be Rh positive (Rh+). If
your blood does not contain the protein,
your blood is said to be Rh negative (Rh-).
A+ A-
B+ B-
AB+ AB-
O+ O-
http://www.fi.edu/biosci/blood/rh.html

15. How common is your blood type?
46.1%
38.8%
11.1%
3.9%

16. Phenotype Genotype/s
Blood type A → AA; AO
Blood type B → BB; BO
Blood type AB → AB
Blood type O → OO

18. Blood Transfusions
A blood transfusion is a procedure in which blood is given to a patient through an
intravenous (IV) line in one of the blood vessels. Blood transfusions are done to replace
blood lost during surgery or a serious injury. A transfusion also may be done if a person’s
body can't make blood properly because of an illness.
Who can give you blood?
People with TYPE O blood are called
Universal Donors, because they can give
blood to any blood type.
People with TYPE AB blood are called
Universal Recipients, because they can
receive any blood type.
Rh +  Can receive + or -
Rh -  Can only receive -
Universal Donor
Universal Recipient

19. A
B
Rh
Blood Type: _____
A
B
Rh
Blood Type: _____
A
B
Rh
Blood Type: _____
Suspect 1 Suspect 2 Suspect 3
If Suspect 1 was injured during the crime and needed
blood, what blood types could he receive?
If Suspect 2 volunteered to donate blood, which blood
types could receive his blood?
Identify the blood type of each sample given the test results.
(Note: clumping, - no clumping)

20. In a disputed parental case, the baby is
blood type “O” and the mother is blood type
“B”. What blood type would exclude a man
from being the father?

21.  Chronological Test for Blood
 Preliminary test
- determines whether the stain contain blood or another substance.
 Confirmatory test
- determines whether bloodstain really contains blood.
 Precipitin test
- determines whether the stain is of human or animal origin.
 Blood Grouping test
- determines the blood group of human blood.

22.  Preliminary test
- Benzidine test (positive result: intense blue)
- Phenolphthalein test (positive result: deep pink)
 also known as Kastle-Meyer test
- Leucomalachite test (positive result: bluish green)
- Luminol test (Luminescence or emission of light)

24. Video – Using Kastle-Meyer test or phenolphthalein test

25.  Confirmatory test
- Microscopic test
- Microchemical/Microcrystalline test
- Spectroscopic test

26. Microscopic
Views
Bird Blood
Cat Blood
Dog Blood
Fish Blood
Frog Blood
Snake Blood
Human Blood
Horse Blood

27. *Spectroscopic test

28.  Precipitin test
 Blood grouping test
(type A; type B; type AB; type O)

29. Blood Evidence
• Blood samples – Can be analyzed to determine blood
type and DNA, which can be matched to possible
suspects.
• Blood droplets – Can be analyzed to give clues to the
location of a crime, movement of a victim, and type of
weapon.
• Blood spatter – Can be analyzed to determine patterns
that give investigators clues to how a crime might have
happened.

30. 30
Blood Evidence
• * Class evidence for blood would include blood type.
If you can determine the DNA you would have
individual evidence.
• *Blood stain patterns are considered circumstantial
evidence in a court room. Experts could argue many
points including direction of travel, height of the
perpetrator, position of the victim, left/right hand,
whether the body was moved, etc.

31. The simplest type of blood spatter analysis
is determining spatters from transfers.
Spatters are created when blood is acted
upon by force, and travels through the air
before landing on a target surface.
Transfers occur when a blood source comes
in direct contact with a target surface area.
SPATTER VS TRANSFER:

32. Passive Fall - blood falling
directly to floor at 90-degree
angle will produce circular
drops, with secondary
satellites being more
produced if surface hits is
textured

33. 33
Effect of Surface:
 Smooth surface = smooth sphere
 Rough/porous surface may cause some
splatter

34. Blood Droplets
• Flat surface – edge of blood
• drop appears smooth and circular
• Glass, marble
• Porous surface – edge of drop of blood
may form small spikes (extensions) or
satellites
• Spikes – attached to make
droplet
• Satellites – not attached to
main droplet

36. Pools – form around victim
who is bleeding heavily and
remains in one place.
• If victim is moved to
another location, there
may be droplets or
smearing connecting
the first location with a
second

37. Arterial
spurts or
gushes –
typically found
on walls or
ceilings caused
by pumping
action of the
heart

39. •Low-Velocity Impact (5 ft/sec)
•Size – 4 to 6 mm
•Ex – blunt object impact (hammer, flashlight,
etc)

40. •Medium-Velocity Impact (25 ft/sec)
•Size – 1-4 mm
•Ex. – beating, stabbing

41. •High Velocity Impact (100 ft/sec) – fine mist
o spatter pattern
Size of Droplets – less than 1 mm
Ex. Gunshot wound

42. Trails – can be left by
bleeding victim
depositing blood as he or
she moves from one
location to another.
• Can be round, smeared,
appear as spurts

43. Smears – left by bleeding victim depositing
blood as he or she touches or brushes
against a wall or furniture
• transfers

46. Biological Evidence from
Scenes:
•Fresh or wet blood should be
collected on clean, sterile
gauze and allowed to dry

47. Swabbing – Stain is transferred to a
swab which has been moistened
with sterile water or saline.
Four sampling methods for dried blood:
Cutting – For stains on objects that are
difficult to submit to the lab. The cut
portion should include unstained
areas around the bloodstain

48. Elution – using a small amount of
saline or distilled water to dissolve
the dried stain
Scraping – a sharp instrument is
used to scrape the stain off of a
surface & onto clean paper

49. •The most important consideration
for preserving biological evidence
from scenes is to thoroughly dry
the item before packaging and
then store in a cool dry
environment
Biological evidence must be
packaged in paper containers
that can breathe