Headline Archives

Question 1. Trichology (d).
If you answered histology (the study of living tissues), you were close. Just for your information, lithology is the study of rocks and phytology is the study of plants. Hairdressers are sometimes called trichologists.

Question 2: The cuticle (c).
The follicle is the cavity where hair grows. The medulla is the center or core of hair; and the cortex is the main body of hair—the region between the cuticle and the medulla.

Question 3. A person's gender (b).
There are no characteristics that tell us whether a hair is from a man or a woman, but we can sometimes make an educated guess by the condition of the hair (for example, lots of hair spray!).

Question 4. False (b).
Forensic examiners can tell a lot by looking at scale patterns, roots, color, length, shaft characteristics, and more. We can tell if a hair was forcibly removed, damaged by burning, dyed or bleached, and cut by glass. Sometimes, we can even figure out if the person was ill. These are important clues. But a microscopic look at hair can't absolutely identify the owner. Since few people have the exact same hair characteristics, however, microscopic exams can provide compelling evidence that hair samples are associated with a certain person. If the hair root has tissue, DNA testing can provide absolute identity.

Question 5. Scalp hair (a).
Under a microscope, scalp hair and pubic hair reveal a greater range of characteristics than other kinds of human hair, so we use them more often in forensic comparisons.

Question 6. A bat hair (c).
Determining whether or not a hair is human is one of the first things we do when examining our samples. So we have to know what the hair for all kinds of animals look like—especially dogs, cats, deer, and rabbits.