Hair analysis may refer to the chemical analysis of a hair sample, but can also refer to microscopic analysis or comparison. Chemical hair analysis may be considered for retrospective purposes when blood and urine are no longer expected to contain a particular contaminant, typically a year or less. Its most widely accepted use is in the fields of forensic toxicology and, increasingly, environmental toxicology. Several alternative medicine fields also use various hair analyses for environmental toxicology but these uses are controversial, evolving and not standardized.
Hair analysis can refer to the forensic technique of assessing a number of different characteristics of hairs, usually consisting of hairs from "known" sources and those recovered during forensic examinations or "questioned" hairs in order to determine whether they have a common source; for example, comparing hair found at the scene of the crime with hair samples taken from a suspect. Typically, examinations of this type are conducted using stereo-microscope(s) for initial preparation, and a comparison microscope for detailed analysis (comparison).
Read more about Hair Analysis: Use in Forensic Toxicology, Drug Test, Use in Environmental Toxicology, Literature
Famous quotes containing the words hair and/or analysis:
“The drama critic on your paper said my chablis-tinted hair was like a soft halo over wide set, inviting eyes, and my mouth, my mouth was a lush tunnel through which golden notes came.”
—Samuel Fuller (b. 1911)
“A commodity appears at first sight an extremely obvious, trivial thing. But its analysis brings out that it is a very strange thing, abounding in metaphysical subtleties and theological niceties.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)