Veterinary forensic pathology
Definition
The application of post-mortem examination principles to animal deaths where criminal conduct is suspected. A veterinary forensic pathologist documents injuries, assesses cause and manner of death, collects biological samples for species and DNA analysis, and provides expert testimony in animal-cruelty prosecutions.
Related terms
- Canine STR multiplex
- A validated set of STR loci used to generate a genotypic profile from dog DNA. The International Society for Animal Genetics (ISAG)...
- Medullary index
- The ratio of the medulla diameter to the total hair shaft diameter. In companion animal hair identification, a medullary index above 0.5...
- Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)
- DNA located in mitochondria rather than the cell nucleus. Present in hundreds to thousands of copies per cell, making it recoverable from...
- Primary transfer
- The direct movement of biological material from an animal to a surface it contacts. When a dog sheds hair onto its owner's...
- Short tandem repeat (STR) profiling
- The amplification and typing of microsatellite loci where short DNA sequences are repeated a variable number of times. When applied to canine...
Explained in
- Companion Animal and Veterinary Forensic BiologyThe application of post-mortem examination principles to animal deaths where criminal conduct is suspected. A veterinary forensic pathologist documents injurie...