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Bloodstain Pattern Analysis Lab

Decent Essays

Bloodstain pattern analysis (BPA) is the interpretation of bloodstains at a crime scene in order to recreate the actions that caused the bloodshed. Analysts examine the size, shape, distribution, and location of the bloodstains to draw about what happened. BPA uses principles of biology (behavior of blood), physics (cohesion, capillary action and velocity) and mathematics (geometry, distance, and angle) to assist investigators in answering questions like:
• From where did the blood originate from?
• What was the cause of the bloodshed? (weapons used)
• From what direction was the victim wounded?
• What were the positions of the victim/ attacker during the bloodshed?
• Did anyone/anything move around after the bloodshed?
• How many possible …show more content…

For instance, if I held out my arm and it was bleeding, the angle of impact of the blood would be 90 degrees, since my arm is directly perpendicular to the floor. To calculate the angle of impact, take the width measurement and the length measurement of the blood stain, keeping in mind not to measure the tail. The tail is caused by the pull of gravity on blood, which is why is disregarded. The larger the tail, the smaller the angle of impact Figure out which figure to use.(the pun is atrocious).One must imagine that as the blood droplet is hitting the surface it is making a right triangle. To calculate, do the …show more content…

Blood drops are falling freely and only moving because of the pull of gravity on it. At low velocities, larger bloodstains are produced. Usually, low velocity bloodstains are a result of blood dripping from a victim. Dripping blood often falls at a 90 angle. This causes a circular bloodstain to form on the surface that hits it lands upon. The droplets range from 4mm-10mm. However, this usually happens if the victim is not moving and completely still. If droplets are falling from a moving object or person, (walking or running) they fall to the ground at an angle (see angle of impact) and the direction of the movement can be established. Spines often appear on bloodstains left behind and can be caused by drops repeatedly landing in the same place, by the distance the drop falls (larger spines indicate larger distance), or by the surface upon which the blood lands (rough surfaces cause more spines to form). Low velocity blood may also be found in the trail of a person who is bleeding and larger pools of blood may indicate where the person

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