ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Published Online: 1 April 1979
Page Count: 20

The Quantitative Acid Phosphatase Test. A Statistical Analysis of Endogenous and Postcoital Acid Phosphatase Levels in the Vagina
Sensabaugh, GF
Assistant professor, Forensic Sciences Group, Department of Biomedical and Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley

(Received 15 June 1978; accepted 7 August 1978)

Abstract

The acid phosphatase test is routinely used in many laboratories as a test for semen in cases involving sexual assault. The basis for this test is the fact that the level of acid phosphatase (ACP) activity is 500 to 1000 times higher in human semen than in other normal body fluids or secretions [1]; this ACP is secreted into semen by the prostate gland. It has been amply demonstrated that elevated levels of ACP activity persist in the vaginal pool after sexual intercourse and in semen stains [2–16]. Thus the detection of strong ACP activity is considered a fairly reliable indicator of semen.

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Paper ID: JFS10841J
DOI: 10.1520/JFS10841J
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