What is Hair Evidence?
True or False: Hair is reliable evidence.
False
Name the three main hair types.
Cuticle, cortex, and medulla
A thick medulla most likely indicates..
Animal hair
Shorter, curly, varies in thickness
Body hair
Resting phase
Telogen
Hair is considered what type of evidence?
Class Evidence
Inner core of the hair
Medulla
True or False: A thin medulla indicates it is human hair.
True
Coarse, thick, often triangular cross-section
Beard hair
Active growth phase
Anagen
What are small pieces of physical evidence that can transfer from one person or object to another
Trace Evidence
Contains pigment (melanin) (gives hair its color)
Cortex
Pigment is evenly ________ in human hair.
distributed
Long, fine, uniform diameter
Head hair
Transition phase
Catagen
Hair can be transferred through what type(s) of contact?
direct and indirect contact
Outer protective layer
Cuticle
Color change is ______ in anaimal hair
abrupt
Short, curved, tapered ends
Eyebrow/Eyelash
Best phase for DNA
Anagen
Hair is often found at crime scenes because...
it is easily shed and transferred between people and environments
What part of the hair is the MOST useful for identifying human vs. animal hair?
The medulla
What is the index for human and animal hair?
human: less than 0.33
animal: greater than 0.50
Which type of hair is the coarsest?
Beard hair
Why is the anagen phase best for DNA?
because the root is attached and contains nuclear DNA