ABSTRACT
The quickest way to locate body fluid stains is by visual examination. Colorless to off-white body fluid stains such as semen, saliva, and sweat may occasionally be 615detectable visually because their color is different from that of the material on which they have been deposited. 1,2 For example, on white cotton cloth, semen stains can have an off-white appearance. Semen stains tend to be stiff and turn yellow with age at room temperature. Saliva and sweat stains are more difficult to see with normal lighting. Problems may arise in visually locating these body fluid stains depending upon the nature of the body fluid or the substrate. In other words, a visual search for body fluids is often unsuccessful. The two remaining techniques for searching for body fluid stains are fluorescence and chemical mapping. Fluorescence is quick and nondestructive; however, it can also fail to detect some body fluid stains. Chemical mapping for semen and saliva can be time-consuming, but it is more specific and sensitive for finding semen and saliva stains. No chemical mapping procedures have been devised for sweat stains.
