Glossary
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NOTE:
* Reproduced from the Medical Glossary used in the Goudge Inquiry Report, as licensed.
† Reproduced from the publicly available terminology of SWGSTAIN (Scientific Working Group
on Bloodstain Pattern Analysis), “Recommended Terminology” online: www.swgstain.org/
resources.
AAFS. American Academy of Forensic Sciences
AAPL. American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law
ABFA. American Board of Forensic Anthropology
ABFDE. American Board of Forensic Document Examiners
ABFE. American Board of Forensic Entomology
ABFO. American Board of Forensic Odontology
ABMDI. American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators
abrasion.* Superficial damage to the skin, generally not deeper than the epidermis
(the outermost layer of the skin). A scrape or scratch.1
accompanying drop.† A small blood drop produced as a by-product of drop
formation.
1 “A scrape or scratch” has been added to the existing definition provided from the
Medical Glossary used in the Goudge Inquiry Report.
Glossary
838 6 The Lawyer’s Guide to the Forensic Sciences
accreditation. The process by which a laboratory demonstrates adherence to
standards.
accuracy. A measure of scientific reliability. Accuracy measures how often the correct
result is achieved when a technique is applied to a large sample set.
acetaldehyde. A metabolite of alcohol produced by the liver, which causes facial
flushing, nausea, and dizziness. Occurs at high concentrations in most Asian per-
sons (e.g., Chinese, Japanese, Korean) and in individuals on Antabuse therapy (a
therapy used to treat chronic alcoholism).
acetone. A volatile substance produced by the body in uncontrolled diabetics,
fasting persons, or due to a high protein/low carbohydrate diet. It does not inter-
fere with current approved instrument or screening devices.
ACE-V method. Analysis, Comparison, Evaluation, and Verification. The steps of
the method used to identify, primarily, fingerprints.
acid phosphatase. A ubiquitous enzyme in numerous body fluids but found in
relatively large amounts in seminal fluid.
ACP. Automatic Colt pistol. This term is seen with calibres such as .25 ACP, .32
ACP, .380 ACP, and .45 ACP.
action. Refers to the mechanism that operates the firearm, and although there are
many different types, the most common that are encountered in casework are:
automatic: This type of firearm feeds cartridges from the magazine to the
chamber, and it also fires, extracts, and ejects cartridge cases as long as
proper pressure is applied to the trigger, and there are cartridges available
in the firearm. Also referred to as fully automatic.
bolt action: This type of firearm has a manually operated breech system
whereby the user unlocks the mechanism by rotating the bolt handle up-
ward and to the rear. This extracts and ejects a fired cartridge case, and
when returned to the lock position, the bolt feeds a cartridge from the
magazine into the chamber and also cocks the firearm. Some bolt action
mechanisms involve a straight pull of the bolt only.
revolver: A very common type of handgun, this firearm has a cylinder con-
taining a number of chambers to hold unfired cartridges. The cylinder ro-
tates around an axis, which can be accomplished by a single, long pull of
the trigger in double-action mode, or by first manually cocking a hammer
in single-action mode before a shorter pull of the trigger is performed.
Glossary 6 839
semi-automatic: The most common type of handgun and firearm encoun-
tered in criminal cases, this firearm uses the energy from each discharged
cartridge to extract and eject a fired cartridge case, cock the firearm, and
feed the next cartridge from the magazine to the chamber. The trigger
must be released, then pressed again, to discharge the next cartridge.
pump-action: Typically found on shotguns, this type of firearm employs a
forearm that is manually worked forward and backward on the underside
of the barrel to chamber an unfired cartridge that is taken from a tubular
magazine, and then to extract and eject it after discharge.
actuarial method. Used in Psychiatric Risk Assessment, this method relies on dif-
ferently weighted historical (static) factors alone, demonstrated through research
to have predictive value.
acute.* Of recent origin.
ADD (weather; entomology). Accumulated degree days
adenine, guanine, thymine, and cytosine. The four bases of the genetic alphabet.
ADH. Alcohol dehydrogenase, the main enzyme in the liver that metabolizes alco-
hol. Also used in hospital enzymatic analysis of alcohol.
ADH (weather; entomology). Accumulated degree hours
AFIS. Automated Fingerprint Identification System. AFIS is a searchable database of
persons who have been lawfully fingerprinted under the authority of the Identification
of Criminals Act. It also includes fingerprint impressions collected at crime scenes. In
Canada, AFIS is managed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (Canadian Criminal
Real Time Identification Services—CCRTIS) in Ottawa. Federal, provincial, region-
al, and municipal police services have access to AFIS through local network users
groups. AFIS is not relied upon to confirm or exclude identity. It is simply used to
narrow the potential search down to fingerprints with similar features (e.g., pattern
type and minutiae). Identifications remain the task of qualified fingerprint examin-
ers and are subsequently and independently verified by another qualified examiner.
air gun. A gun that employs some form of compressed air or gas to discharge a
projectile. The type of projectile can vary depending on the gun, as can the type
of air or gas. Performances and wounding capabilities can vary greatly, sometimes
introducing difficulties with regards to whether or not a particular air gun consti-
tutes a “firearm.”
alleles. Genetic differences or variants at DNA locations.
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