Technical Terms

[Sara Sidle]

If you need to know what the scientific terms are that are used by CSIs, you're in the right board

• House fires double in size every thirty seconds.
  
  
• The body temperature drops by 2° in the first hour post-mortem and 1° every hour after that.
  
  
• Flashover -
  When a fire reaches 932 degrees Farenheit, if oxgen is added, the smoke will burst into flames. This is known as a flashover.
  
  
• Gamma Hydroxybutanoic Acid — Date-rape drug. Colorless and odorless CNS depressant. Also known as GHB.
  
  
• Polyhexamethylene Biguanide —
  Antimicrobial agent used for topical treatment of chronic wounds and as an alternative to chlorine in pools and spas.
  
  
• Alveolar Eosinophils —
  Cytoplasmic inclusions in the alveoli. It can indicate an allergic reaction e.g. asthma.
  
  
• Anaphylactic Shock —
  Reaction that occurs when a specific foreign material enters the bloodstream of a person sensitive to it. During said reaction the airways constrict radically and blood pressure falls dramatically.
  
  
• Interferon —
  Used as a deterrent against Hepatitis-C.
  
  
• Asphyxiation —
  Kill or render unconscious by obstructing normal breathing such as inadequate oxygen or presence of noxious fumes.
  
  
• Methamphetamine —
  Amphetamine used as a CNS stimulant. Side effects include extreme anxiety, aggression and paranoia.
  
  
• Neurofibrillary Tangles —
  Abnormal brain structures composed of neurofilaments and microtubules. In Alzheimer’s, the tangles are found in the cytoplasm of certain neocortex, hippocampus, brainstem and dienceophalon cells. The number correlates with the degree of dementia.
  
  
• Occipital Bone —
  The bone that forms the back and the partial base of the cranium, which encloses the brain. It has a large oval opening, the foreman magnum, through which the medulla oblongata passes, which connects the brain to the spinal cord.
  
  
• Pericardium —
  In vertebrates, the sac of mesothelium and submesothelial connective tissue that contain the heart and the roots of the great blood vessels.
  
  
• Luminol —
  Chemiluminescent compound that, when sprayed on even trace amounts of blood, reacts with the iron in the hemoglobin and causes the blood spot to glow with a blue light; effective even on surfaces that have been wiped clean of visible blood.
  
  
• Immunoelectrophoresis —
  Process that identifies proteins by measuring electrical charge and reactivity with antibodies.
  
  
• Alkaloids —
  Nitrogenous compounds used generally as anesthetics or pain relievers; alkaloids (like caffeine, nicotine, strychnine, cocaine and morphine) derive from vascular plants and some types of fungus.
  
  
• Acetylsalicylic Acid —
  Chemical name for aspirin; non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory analgesic.
  
  
• Anaglyphics —
  The use of contrasting colored lenses or filters to yield a 3-D or stereo image of an object.
  
  
• Cyanoacrylate Fuming —
  Fumes from heated glue are directed onto a surface using a fuming chamber and a small fan; fingerprint powder is then applied to reveal prints. This technique can be used on most surfaces, including human bodies. Refrigerated bodies do not accept this technique well, as condensation can interfere with the glue’s adhesion.
  
  
• Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate —
  Also known as sedimentation (or sed) rate. Screens for rhematologic disorders and can detect tuberculosis, tissue death, rheumatic fever and other diseases.
  
  
• Diazafluoren —
  Used to develop latent prints on porous surfaces; reacts to amino acids in perspiration; fluoresces under ALS or various lasers.
  
  
• Cobalt Thiocyanate —
  Tests for cocaine, tetracaine, procaine and methadone.
  
  
• Cyclopentolate —
  Ophthalmic drug used dilate the pupil by relaxing the ciliary muscle and the ocular sphincter, preventing the lens from focusing and thus dilating the pupil.
  
  
• Dextrocardia —
  Physical anomaly in which the heart tube bends to the left, instead of the right. The condition usually happens when all organ systems are reversed (situs inversus). When it does occur with situs inversus there is generally no functional abnormalities; when dextrocardia occurs without situs inversus, severe abnormalities can often be expected.
  
  
• Diazepam —
  Also known as Valium; tranquilizer used to relieve anxiety and relax muscles.
  
  
• Dilaudid —
  Also known as hydromorphone hydrochloride; A highly potent ketone of morphine, it is narcotic analgesic and antitussive.
  
  
• Ecchymosis —
  A purple discoloration of the skin that occurs when blood from ruptured blood vessels passes into subcutaneous tissue.
  
  
• Encephalitis —
  Inflammation of the brain.
  
  
• Endotoxic Shock —
  Also known as septic shock; Occurs when vital organs are impaired, or fail, through low blood pressure and flow caused by serious infection, generally bacterial but also fungal and, rarely, viral.
  
  
• Epithelial Cells —
  Membranous tissue that covers most internal and external surfaces of the body and its organs. Basically, skin cells.
  
  
• Erythema —
  Abnormal redness of the skin caused by increased flow of blood through superficial capillaries.
  
  
• Ethylene Glycol —
  Colorless liquid used in anti-freeze and de-icing solutions.
  
  
• Ethylenediaminetetraacetic Acid —
  Used as anticoagulant; removes calcium from blood so it doesn’t clot.
  
  
• Exothermic Reaction —
  A chemical reaction accompanied by the evolution of heat.
  
  
• Exsanguination —
  The action or process of losing or draining blood.
  
  
• Facial Edema —
  Accumulation of fluid in the face. Also, neck and upper arms.
  
  
• Frenulum —
  The band of tissue that attaches the tongue to the floor of the mouth. If this becomes torn, asphyxiation can sometimes occur.
  
  
• Gastric Ulcer —
  Inflammation of the stomach lining caused when acid and pepsin in the stomach overcome the stomach’s mucosal lining. Causes include overuse of aspirin and NSAID (A nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, such as aspirin or ibuprofen), age, smoking and stress.
  
  
• Glucophage —
  Used to treat Type II diabetes. Regulates blood glucose levels in three ways: It reduces the amount of glucose produced by your liver; It reduces the amount of glucose absorbed from food through your stomach; it makes the insulin that your body produces work better to reduce the amount of glucose already in your blood. It has also been found to lower blood fat levels and contribute to minor weight loss.
  
  
• Green Blowfly —
  Phaenicia Sericata. Large (5-10mm) fly with metallic blue or green abdomen and thorax, whose larvae feed in human garbage and in dead animals.
  
  
• Haeckel Marks -
  Stress marks at the end of and at right angles to the radial fracture in glass; Haeckel marks always form on the opposite side from which the glass was broken.
  
  
• Halothane —
  Anesthetic that works through inhalation. CF3CHBrCl.
  
  
• Hematoma —
  Blood clot that forms in a tissue or organ when a blood vessel is broken.
  
  
• Hemorrhagic Conversion —
  A kind of ischemic infarction associated with secondary bleeding.
  
  
• Hemorrhagic Shock —
  State caused by extreme blood loss, usually as a result of trauma, but also, infrequently, as a result of childbirth or surgery, among other things.
  
  
• Hemorrhaging Associated With Asphyxia —
  Discoloration of the head and neck, bulging of the eyes and bleeding within the eyes and around the eye sockets, caused by sudden, severe compression of the chest.
  
  
• Hemothorax —
  Most commonly the result of trauma, Hemothorax is the presence of blood in the body’s pleural spaces - which surround the lungs and line the chest cavity.
  
  
• Hiridin —
  First identified in 1884, an anticoagulant secreted by the bucchal glands of leeches that inactivates thrombin.
  
  
• Human Chorionic Gonadotropin —
  Also known as hCG. Hormone produced early in pregnancy by chorionic cells in the fetal part of the placenta. Maintains the mother’s progesterone, ensuring that the uterine lining is stable. Home pregnancy kits test for the presence of hCG to confirm pregnancy.
  
  
• Inion —
  The skull’s external occipital protuberance, the most prominent point at the back of the human head.
  
  
• Ischemic Necrosis —
  Death of cells caused by inadequate blood supply to a local area, usually due to blockage of the blood vessels that feed the area.
  
  
• Ischemic Stroke —
  Occurs when the flow of blood to the brain is interrupted (by a clot or blood vessel, for example); the most common type of stroke.
  
  
• Ketamine —
  Fast-acting non-barbiturate disassociative anesthetic that can cause numbness, slurred speech, loss of coordination or motor skills and depressed respiratory function.
  
  
• Lands & Grooves —
  Lands are the raised areas inside the barrel of a firearm; the grooves are the recessed areas. The number, size and shape of lands and grooves can identify a weapon.
  
  
• Laryngeal Edema —
  Abnormal and excessive accumulation of fluid in the upper region of the trachea that forms the vocal chords.
  
  
• Ligature Furrow —
  Track or groove left in skin that has been bound or cinched with a rope, wire or other strong ligature.
  
  
• Linolenic Acid —
  Polyunsaturated 18-carbon essential fatty acid found in some fish and seed oils; cannot be synthesized by animal tissues and must be obtained in the diet.
  
  
• Liver Temperature —
  A method of determining approximate time of death. Inter – or sub – heptic temperature is taken by inserting a chemical thermometer (or other similar instrument with a length of 10-12 inches) into or beneath the liver (a process referred to as abdominal stab). Normal body core temperature ranges from approximately 97.2 to 99.75 degrees Fahrenheit, and it is possible to a certain extent to plot time of death against certain standards of body cooling, although many environmental and individual factors must be taken into account.