[Morphology of traces of large blood drops on a snow-covered surface with different bleeding source height].
Yuri I PigolkinE N LeonovaI V VlasyukA S KuchaPublished in: Sudebno-meditsinskaia ekspertiza (2020)
Aim is to study morphology of the traces of a large drop of blood formed on snow-covered surface when it falls from different heights. In the experiment, we studied the morphology of blood drop traces fallen from 20, 50 and 100 cm on a just settled dry snow cover in a moderately frosty environment (-8 °C) Dropping from a height of up to 20 cm, a blood drop formed a cylindrical channel in the snow cover and spread out to form a disc-shaped element. However if the bleeding source was located at a 50 and 100 cm distance, an element close to a ball, consisting of blood crystals and ice was formed in the final section of the cylindrical channel. Morphology of the trace in freshly settled dry snow is due to the realization of the kinetic energy of a falling drop on the one hand, and the cooling of blood and crystallization on the other. Data obtained may be used to identify and describe traces of blood found on the scene in the street in the winter.