Hematology as an Analytical Tool in Forensic Science

Abstract

Blood is one of the most important biological evidence found at a crime scene. In a violent crime , the blood sample obtained may belong to the victim, the suspect(murderer) or any other eyewitness. A proper analysis of blood samples obtained at a crime scene may contribute to clarify the circumstances under which the crime would have been committed. The information obtained by studying the blood sample may point the criminal investigation in the right direction and can help solve the crime. Hematology refers to the study of blood and it can play an important tool in analysing the crime. The blood analysis begins with the presumptive tests to confirm that a given sample is blood. Then precipitin technology may be used to find the species to which the blood belongs. Methods like DNA fingerprinting may be used to match the blood at crime scene with the blood of suspect to get a step closer to finding the criminal. We report here few of the analysis of blood that can be done to possibly fasten the process of case solving and find the right criminal.