ifferent ways, such as hanging , which can be anaccident, homicide or suicide, or strangling which is homicide. Damage to thevictims air passage by an object in the throat or compression of a victimschest by a person or an objector the replacement of oxygen in the red bloodcells by another gas such as carbon monoxide poisoning. That too can be aresult of an accident, homicide or suicide.In a death involving carbon monoxide poisoning a closed garage doorand no marks on the body are usually taken as an indication of suicide. Thepresence of tools around the car and grease on the victims hands is anindication of an accidental death. The presence of a wound caused by a blowto the head or if there is no carbon monoxide in the blood of he victimindicates a homicide that was made to look like a suicide.Forensic science uses sophisticated lab techniques to detect thepresence of substances in the victim, the suspected criminal, or at the crimescene. In determining whether alcohol was involved in a crime, the amount ofalcohol in the blood can be measured in two ways. The first is to measure theamount of alcohol exhaled in the breath of the person. This reveals theconcentration of alcohol in the person’s blood. Blood alcohol level can alsobe determined by blood tests, usually through chromatography. In thismethod, the blood sample is vaporized by high temperature, and the gas issent through a column that separates the different chemical compoundspresent in the blood. Gas chromatology also detects the presence ofbarbiturates, cocaine, amphetamines, and heroin.When a body is discovered in a lake, stream, river or ocean, and thelungs are filled with water, the medical examiner must determine if thedrowning occurred where the body was found or somewhere else. Astandard microscope that can magnify objects to 1500 times their size is usedto look for diatoms. Diatoms are single cell algae that are found in all naturalbodies of water. If there are...
