The Study of Hair

Ms Clark, 2014
PVMHS

Hair evidence
What information can be gained from
analysis of hair?
Hair alone (without follicle cells) is trace
evidence & class evidence.
It does not identify a specific individual,
but can narrow your suspects down
based of certain characteristics of their
hair.

Hair evidence
Hair is easily left behind at a crime scene.
Adheres easily to carpet, clothes, and
many other surfaces (sheets, blankets, car
interior, moist surfaces).

Hair has a tough outer coating and does

not decompose easily, so its durable.
Hair can be analyzed to determine race,
history of drug use, evidence
poisoning/toxins, nutritional deficiencies.
Hair analysis can sometimes indicate what
water supply a person is using!

History of Hair
Analysis
1883: Alfred Swaine Taylor and Thomas Stevenson
publish The Principles and Practice of Medical
Jurisprudence and include a chapter on using hair in
forensic investigations.
1910: Victor Balthazar & Marcell Lambert (French
forensic scientists) publish Le Poil de lHomme et des
Animaux (the hair of man and animals) which includes
microscopic studies of hair from most mammals.
1934: Dr. Sydney Smith uses a comparison
microscope to perform side-by-side analysis of hairs
collected from a crime scene.
Today hair analysis includes neutron activation
analysis (NAA) , chemical analysis, and DNA analysis

The Function of Hair

Why do mammals (including humans) have
hair?

The Function of Hair

Helps to regulate body temperature
What happens when you get cold? Why?

Protects the skin against sunlight

Acts as a sensory organ
When hair is very dense, its called fur.

The Structure of
Hair
Hair originates from the skin.
Your skin is known as the Integumentary
system.
Hair is an accessory organ to your skin.
The skin has 3 layers:
Epidermis (most superficial layer, at the
surface)
Dermis (middle layer)
Hypodermis (deepest layer)

The Structure of
Hair
Hair originates from the hair bulb, is
surrounded by the hair follicle, and is
located in the dermis.
The end of the follicle is called the papilla,
this is where the blood vessels meet the
hair to supply nutrients.

The Structure of
Hair

(Generally) a sebaceous gland

(oil gland) is associated with
each hair bulb.
Helps water proof the hair and
protect it from drying out.

A muscle that attaches to the

hair follicle to erect the hair
when stimulated (cold or
scared).
The hair shaft is what you see
(the hair on your arm or on
your head).

The Structure of
Hair
The cuticle of the hair is composed of keratin, a
protein produced in the skin.
Proteins are made up of chains of amino acids that
are connected by strong bonds, making hair strong
and flexible.

The Structure of
Hair
The hair shaft is made up of 3 layers: the
medulla, the cortex, and the outer cuticle.
Pencil analogy:
-Central medulla
-Cortex surrounds
medulla
-Cuticle on outside

The Cuticle
The outer layer of the hair shaft,
made up of keratin.
The scales point away from the
scalp.
This can indicate where the
younger part of the hair is
(closest to the scalp).
Useful when looking for drugs or
toxins at a specific point in time.

The Cuticle
Humans have scales that are
flattened and narrow, called
imbricate scales.
Some animals have hair with
different scales, this allows
scientists to distinguish human hair
from animal hair.
Coronal scales have the
appearance of a stack of crowns.
Spinous scales resemble petals.

Imbricate - Human

Coronal - rodents

Spinous - cats

The Cortex

Contains most of the pigment granules, called

melanin. This gives the hair its color.
Pigment distribution varies from person to
person
Some people have larger pigment granules, giving
a more uneven distribution when viewed under a
microscope.

The Medulla
The center of the hair is called the medulla.
There are different patterns that a person could
have
Continuous
Interrupted
Fragmented/segmented
Solid
Absent

There is also significant differences between

species.

Medulla patterns

Variation in Hair
Shape: hair may be circular, triangular,
flattened, or irregular.
Length
Color: depends on distribution of pigment
granules.
Human hair is usually one color along the
entire length unless it has been
artificially dyed.
Animals often have pigments found in
solid masses called ovoid bodies, this
is why the color of animal hair can
appear banded.

Variation in Hair
Texture:
Vibrissa the whiskers of many animals
Bristle coarse hair that provides a protective
coat
Wool fine hairs that cover the bodies of
mammals and protect from wet & cold

Diameter: The ratio of the diameter of

the medulla to the diameter of the hair is
called the medullary index.
Animals have a greater medullary index
than humans.

Human Hair
Head and body hair of humans is intermediate
combining the characteristics of bristle and
wool.
4 types:
Primordial hairs appears in 3rd month of gestation
Lanugo hairs replaces the primordial hairs,
appears around the 5th month of gestation and are
generally shed by the 8th month of gestation.
Vellus hairs soft hairs spread uniformly all over
the body
Terminal hair found on the scalp,
eyebrows/eyelashes, limbs/body, pubic, & axillary
regions.

Life Cycle of Hair

Hair proceeds through 3 stages as it develops.
Anagen stage: Period of active growth when cells
around the follicle are rapidly dividing.
Lasts 2-6 years on the scalp, but may be less on
other areas of the body.

Canagen stage: Period of transition, hair follicle

shrinks & papilla detaches
Telogen phase: Follicle remains dormant,
eventually hair will loosen and fall out and the
anagen stage begins again.

Hair as evidence
Review Locards exchange principle
Whenever 2 objects come in contact, some
transfer of material will occur.

Hair is trace evidence

Hair can be collected by plucking, shaking,
placing tape over a surface, using a special
vacuum.
If a large number of hairs are collected from
a crime scene the technician has to compare
the hairs from the crime scene to hairs from
the victim and/or suspect.

Hair analysis
Can be analyzed macroscopically
and microscopically.
Macroscopic analyses include
length, color, texture, curliness.
Microscopic analyses include
medulla pattern, cortex
pigmentation, type of scales on the
cuticle, and medullary index.

Hair analysis
Many dyes will fluoresce under certain
types of light.
Chemical tests can be used to determine
presence of toxins or drugs.
If hair is forcibly removed the hair follicle
may be present.
This is known as a follicular tag.
Blood and tissue attached to the tag
may be analyzed for blood type and
DNA analysis.

Chemical analysis
By testing different parts of the
hair its possible to establish a
timeline for when exposure to
poisons or other toxins
occurred.

Chemical analysis
Hair grows about 1.3 cm per
month
if a toxin occurs at 9cm from the
root, you would divide by 1.3 to
get the approximate time that
the exposure occurred.

Chemical analysis
Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA)
can be used to identify up to 14
elements in a single 2cm strand of
hair.
Including: antimony, argon,
bromine, copper, gold,
manganese, silver, sodium,
arsenic, chlorine, and zinc
The probability of 2 hairs having
the same profile is very low.

Any questions?