ABSTRACT
The popularity of DNA analysis in criminal investigations today would reasonably lead one to wonder why a chapter such as this is of any value. Forensic serology was the predominant field dealing with blood and body fluids in forensic laboratories worldwide from the 1950s until the late 1980s when the analysis of evidentiary material for deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) became a reality. A rapid growth in the number of laboratories employing DNA methods has resulted in laboratories, both law enforcement and private, such that it is now available to most investigations. With this increase in DNA analysis, there has been a decline in the number of laboratories using the standard serological procedures. Indeed, many laboratories without DNA capabilities perform the basics and forward samples to DNA laboratories to have additional analysis completed. Even with this shift, however, it can be seen that the most basic serological procedures are used as screening techniques to locate/identify material for analysis, even in those laboratories employing DNA analysis.
