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