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تسجيل

Specimen types , Syringes and other items

المؤلف:  Sue Jickells , Adam Negrusz (Editors)

المصدر:  Clarkes Analytical Forensic Toxicology

الجزء والصفحة:  197

2026-10-11

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Specimen types

Syringes and other items

Detection of some drugs, and particularly non drug poisons, may be considerably easier in items found at the scene than through analysis of blood alone, and might also assist interpretation of the results. For example, residues of partially dissolved medications found in a drinking glass at a scene of death can be a strong indicator of suicidal intent. Other containers used to mix poisons prior to suicidal consumption (or homicidal administration) can also be useful to the toxicologist. Some pesticides are not detected readily in blood using routine screening procedures but can be detected much more easily in the concentrated residue in a container. Similarly, some potent drugs that are difficult to detect in blood or tissues may be detected in syringes. For example, the interpretation of blood morphine concentrations may be influenced by whether they resulted from use of morphine or diamorphine. Since diamorphine rapidly breaks down in blood, and monoacetylmorphine is only slightly more stable, proof of the use of diamorphine may depend on circumstantial evidence, such as detecting a residue in a syringe. Similarly, finding insulin in a syringe near a person who was not a known diabetic is useful circumstantial evidence of insulin admin istration. It is otherwise extremely difficult to prove hypoglycaemia in a dead person.