NCJ Number
138342
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 37 Issue: 4 Dated: (July 1992) Pages: 1048-1054
Date Published
1992
Length
7 pages
Annotation
An examination of tunnels produced in human head hair by fungal hyphae using a light microscope and a scanning electron microscope revealed that tunnels had small diameters and exhibited minimal branching.
Abstract
The analysis focused on hairs recovered from an automobile and which were compared microscopically with known samples of head and pubic hair taken from a murder victim and several suspects. The victim had been buried for 3 weeks before the body was exhumed and the hair exemplars obtained. The victim's pubic hairs showed no tunneling, possibly because the clothing prevented fungal spores in the air or in soil from settling on the pubic region. When examined with a transmitted light microscope, the victim's head hairs exhibited numerous fungal tunnels, but no fungal hyphae or fungal spores were visible. The tunnels had small diameters and exhibited minimal branching. The use of a backscattered electron detector facilitated the location of tunnel openings in hair surfaces. Tunnel openings appeared as dark spots in the backscattered electron image. Tunneling hyphae did not show a preference for a particular location for entering the hair shaft. Some hyphae penetrated under the free edges of cuticular scales, while others burrowed through scale surfaces. 22 references and 7 figures