NCJ Number
146933
Journal
Japanese Journal of Legal Medicine Volume: 47 Issue: 6 Dated: (December 1993) Pages: 423-434
Date Published
1993
Length
12 pages
Annotation
The progress of sex identification methods for forensic biological materials, such as dried bloodstains, is reviewed on the basis of previous research and results obtained in a Japanese laboratory.
Abstract
A 1949 study discovered sexual bimorphism of mammalian interphase nuclei based on the presence of sex chromatin in the female and its absence in the male. This study also recognized a similar sex difference in human cells. A 1954 study first demonstrated sexual dimorphism in the female in polymorphonuclear leukocytes in human peripheral blood, based on the presence of drumstick in the female and its absence in the male. Research in 1956 first utilized sex chromatin in the female nucleus to determine sex from forensic materials, while a 1960 study described a method for identifying sex from dried bloodstains by detecting drumstick. Late in 1971, a Japanese laboratory introduced a method for detecting Y chromatin in interphase nuclei of the human male by fluorescent microscopy, as a new tool for decisive male sex determination from forensic materials. This method was accepted as a reliable way to identify sex in forensic medicine. Since 1980, the laboratory has focused on identifying sex from bloodstains based on the ratio of sex hormones (testosterone and progesterone) determined by radioimmunoassay. The laboratory has also studied Y and X chromosome-specific DNA sequences using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The laboratory's improved PCR method is thought to be broadly applicable to forensic practice because of its simplicity, sensitivity, and reliability. 42 references, 1 table, and 3 figures