Presenter: Mr.

Cage

Topic: Toxicological Sampling

Audience: Expert

Word Count: 149

During autopsies, toxicological samples are taken and preserved for further testing and study.

Urine is collected from the bladder via needle and syringe and is used to determine the presence

of opiates, diazepines, and cocaine. Blood is taken from the aorta or large veins¹ since venous

blood is considerably more reliable than aorta blood for drug testing. Blood is used to test for

alcohol and, when necessary, the quantitation of drugs found while testing urine samples, but this

is only performed if positive results are found in the urine screening. When necessary, small

pieces of internal organs may be taken and placed into a solution of formaldehyde to be

preserved for future study and DNA analysis. Further testing may be prompted from information

received from the medical history of the person, witness statements, or crime scene examination.

Any tools used are cleaned between samples to prevent any contamination.²

1. Jones, S.; McGowan, C.; Boyle, S.; Ke, Y.; Chan, C. H.; Hwang, H. An Overview of

Sample Preparation in Forensic Toxicology. WIREs Forensic Sci. 2021, 1, 1-13

2. Dinis-Oliveira, R. J.; Vieira, D. N.; Magalhães, T. Guidelines for Collection of Biological

Samples for Clinical and Forensic Toxicological Analysis. Forensic Sci. Res. 2016, 1,

42–51.
Comments:
“Good job! Forgot to put a period at the end of reference 1, and remember in-text citations are
placed after the period at the end of the sentence.”

After rereading my original submission for week twelve, I noticed these errors and have
corrected them.
Presenter: Mr. Cage

Topic: Toxicological Sampling

Audience: Expert

Word Count: 253

During autopsies, toxicological samples are taken and preserved for further testing and study.

Urine is collected from the bladder via needle and syringe and is used to determine the presence

of opiates, diazepines, and cocaine. Blood is taken from the aorta or large veins since venous

blood is considerably more reliable than aorta blood for drug testing.¹ Blood is used to test for

alcohol and, when necessary, the quantitation of drugs found while testing urine samples, but this

is only performed if positive results are found in the urine screening. When necessary, small

pieces of internal organs may be taken and placed into a solution of formaldehyde to be

preserved for future study and DNA analysis. Further testing may be prompted from information

received from the medical history of the person, witness statements, or crime scene examination.

When preserving samples for DNA analysis, hair from the head may also be taken. When taking

hair samples, it is important to remove the bulb that contains nuclear DNA as mitochondrial

DNA is in cut hair. Potential biohazards occur when handling blood and hair samples as it is

possible that the person had hepatitis b, hepatitis c, or HIV, which is transmittable through

contact with hair or blood, even once it’s dried. To prevent any contamination and potential

biohazards from occurring, many precautions are taken during toxicological sampling.

Toxicologists must wear gloves while performing, and wash or change gloves in between

samples. Any tools used are cleaned between samples to prevent any contamination.²
3. Jones, S.; McGowan, C.; Boyle, S.; Ke, Y.; Chan, C. H.; Hwang, H. An Overview of

Sample Preparation in Forensic Toxicology. WIREs Forensic Sci. 2021, 1, 1-13.

4. Dinis-Oliveira, R. J.; Vieira, D. N.; Magalhães, T. Guidelines for Collection of Biological

Samples for Clinical and Forensic Toxicological Analysis. Forensic Sci. Res. 2016, 1,

42–51.