AAFS - American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Abrasion - An injury to the skin that removes the epithelial layer.

Accelerant - A flammable substance that is used to create and spread fire.

Accident Reconstruction - Using evidence to recreate the scene of an accident to determine what happened.

Acid Phosphate Test - A test using two substances to reveal the prescense of seminal fluid by the appearance of purple colouring.

Adipocere - A waxy preservative substance that forms on the skin of a corpse when decomposing in moist conditions. Made up primarily of insoluble salts of fatty acids.

AFIS - Automated Fingerprint Identification System. A database used for searching for and comparing latent prints.

Aggravating Circumstances - Conditions making a crimemore serious.

Agglutination - The clotting together of red blood cells in the presence of an antibody.

Algor Mortis - The cooling off of the body after death.

Alligatoring - A burn pattern in wood indicating a hot fire.

ALS (Alternative Light Source) - A light source used to bringing out the likes of blood, latent fingerprints, fibers, and other trace evidence difficult to see in ordinary light.

Antemortem - Prior to death.

Anthropology - The study of the origin, culture, and development of human beings.

Anthropometry - Devised by Alphonse Bertillon, a method which take a person's key body measurements for a record of uniqueness, often used to identify them.

Apnoea - See Asphyxia.

Arches - One of several characteristic patterns of the ridges in a fingerprint. Around 5% of the population have arches in their fingerprints.

Arson - Intentionally starting a fire with the intention of causing damage.

ASCLD - American Society Of Crime Lab Directors, a society offering guildlines on how crime labs should be run.

Asphyxia - Lack of oxygen or increase of carbon dioxide in the blood, resulting in unconciousness or death.

Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy - A method used to analyze gunshot residue.

Auto Erotic Accident - A death occuring from the lack of oxygen produced by masturbatory rituals.

Autopsy - The internal medical examination of a body to determine the cause and sometimes means of death.

Ballistics - The science of the motion, trajectory and characteristics of projectiles such as bullets.

Barefoot Morphology - The science of reading footprints based on the likes of pace, size, body weight, etc.

Benzidine Colour Test - A test previously used to reveal the presence of blood at a crime scene.

Bertillonage - Created by Alphonse Bertillon in 1883, a method of classifying people based on a set of bodily measurements. The method was deemed obsolete when fingerprinting came about.

Blood Analysis - See Serology.

Blood Pooling - Blood congestion that settles in the lowest areas of a dead body. See Hypostasis for more.

Blood Spatter - The impact of spilled or sprayed blood on a surface.

Blood Spatter Pattern Analysis - The study of how the blood hits a surface to determine the events that took place, looking at the amount, velocity, patterns, etc of the blood.

Bloodstain Interpretation - The study and interpretation of the size, shape, distribution and orientation of a bloodstain.

Blood Volume Test - A test which shows the amount of blood shed in a given area and the amount of time needed to create the stain.

Botany - The scientific study of plants. Forensically used to examine plant matter found at a crime scene or on evidence.

Brainprint - The technology of determining whether a brain recalls the memory of an experience, for example a crime.

Buccal Swab - Swabs taken from the inside of the mouth for collecting epithelial cells.

Bullet Track - The path a bullet or other projectile takes when it passes through, for example, a body.

Bullet Wipe - A darkened ring around an entry wound, caused by the oils used to manufacture the bullet.

Cadaveric Spasm - The sudden rigidty muscles immediately after death.

Caliber - The internal diameter of a gun barrel and the bullet it fires, usually stated in hundredths of an inch.

Case Linkage - Finding links between cases that were seemingly unrelated.

Cast-off Stains - As the result of blunt force trauma, when the weapon is pulled back a blood spatter is produced, creating an arc of blood droplets. The stains can be studied to determine directionality, number of blows, etc.

Chain Of Custody - A system used to keep track of who handles a piece of evidence and why. Every link in the chain is documented, right from the discovery of the item at a crime scene, right through to court. If the chain of custody is broken at all, the evidence is inadmissable and therefore useless.

Choke - The constriction of a shotgun barrel to increase its range and reduce the spread of the shot.

Chromosome - 23 thread-like bodies found in the nucleus of most human cells.

CODIS - Combined DNA Index System. The FBI's database of genetic information.

Cold Case - An unsolved criminal investigation that is still open but no longer under investigation.

Comparison Microscope - Basically two compound microscopes formed into one unit, allowing the user to view two objects side by side for comparison.

Composite Drawing - A sketch of a suspect created from eyewitness accounts.

Computer Forensics - The use of computer technology to aid criminal investigations.

Concentric Fractures - The patterns of cracks around a spot of impact, for example where a bullet penetrated glass.

Contact Wound - Produced when a firearm is placed against a surface or person when fired, created a ragged wound.

Coroner - The person in charge of the death investigation in some jurisdictions.

Corpus Delicti - The body of evidence that constitutes an offence.

Cortex - The middle layer of a human hair which contains the pigment that gives the hair its colour.

Crime Scene Documentation - The fist steps after a scene is secured. Includes photographing, taking notes, sketching the scene, and measurement taking, etc.

CrimeScene Reconstruction - Using evidence to recreate the possible series of events of a crime.

Crime Scene Staging - When a criminal or accomplice attempts to alter a crime to reduce its evidentiary value or incriminate another person.

Criminalistics - The application of science to law or law enforcement, and the science of analysing physical evidence of a crime.

Criminal Profiling - Using crime scene observation and patterns of crime to determine the characteristics of a criminal, useful for narrowing down suspects.

Criminology - The study of criminal activity and law.

Cuticle - The oiter sheath of the hair, formed by many overlapping scales.

Dactyloscopy - The technique of developing and identifying fingerprints.

Delta - A characteristic in the looped ridge pattern of fingerprints, present in about 65% of people.

Density Test - A floating test used to determine whether two pieces of glass are from the same source.

Dental Stone - A type of casting material often used for tire and footprint impressions.

Diatom - A microscopic algae found in bodies of water. Often used to help compare water samples to determine if they originated from the same source.

Diminished capacity - A psychological defense indicitive of an inability to appreciate the nature of a crime or to control one's actions (not used in all states)

Disarticulation - Separation of bone joints

Discovery - The process through which parties in dispute find out facts about the case

Disorganized offender - Person who commits a crime haphazardly or opportunistically, using weapons at the scene or often leaving clues

DNA - Deoxyribonucleic Acid; constructed of a double helix, DNA is the genetic material contained in cells. All organic matter has a specific DNA sequence; these sequences act like a genetic fingerprint and are currently the best method for identifying organic evidence like blood and other bodily fluids

DNA databanks - Databases which store DNA profiles collected from various classes of offenders. DNA from a given crime can be entered into the databank; it can then be matched with DNA profiles from other crimes, providing potential matches from previous convictions

DNA profile - The blueprint of a person's physical identity, as determined by his or her genes

DNA profiling - The process of testifying to identify DNA patterns or types. In forensic science this testing is used to indicate parentage or to exlude or include individuals as possible sources of bodily fluids (blood, saliva, semen) and other biological evidence (bones, hair, teeth)

Double action - A gun action where the pulling of the triiger to fire a round -cocks the gun so that the next round is ready to be fired (compare with "Single action")

Drugfire - A computer program for matching cartridges to those used in other crimes

Dry drowning - Death caused by a body reflex from a spam pf the larynx due to the shock of the victim falling into the water, resulting in the heart stopping

Due process - Guaranteed steps in a legal proceeding