Forensics- Chapter 12

impact spatter

a blood stain pattern produced when an object makes forceful contact with a source of blood, projecting drops of blood outward from the source

transfer patter

a bloodstain pattern created when a surface that carries wet blood comes in contact with a second surface; recognizable imprints of all or a portion of the original surface or the direction of movement may be observed

drip trail pattern

a series of drops that are formed by blood dripping off an object or blood dripping from a wound; they form a line or path that can show the movement of the individual/object

void

an area within a deposited spatter pattern that is clear of spatter, caused by an object or person blocking the area at the time of the spatter's deposition.

circular

caused by blood hitting a surface at a right angle

cast off spatter

created when a bloody object flings blood in an arc onto another surface

medium-velocity spatter

drops with diameters from 1-3 mm; normally associated with blunt force trauma

high-velocity spatter

drops with diameters of less then 1 mm; can be produced by gunshot wounds or explosions

elongated

impacted the surface at an angle that was less than 90 degrees.

flow pattern

made by drops flowing by the pull of gravity

low-velocity spatter

normally produced by minimal force; drops with 3 mm or more

contact/transfer patterns

produced when a blood object touches an object that does not have blood on it; usually does not involve movement

swipe pattern

produced when a bloody object moves across a surface

Satellite spatter

small droplets of blood that are distributed around the perimeter of a drop or drops of blood and were produced as a result of the blood impacting the target surface

angle of impact

the acute angle formed between the path of a blood drop and the surface that it contacts

back spatter

blood directed back toward the source of the force that caused the spatter; aka blowback spatter

forward spatter

blood that travels away from the source in the same direction as the forces that caused the spatter