ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Published Online: 17 December 2003
Page Count: 4

Lugol's Test Reexamined again: Buccal Cells
Jones, EL
Forensic scientist, Ventura County Sheriff's Department Forensic Sciences Laboratory, CA

Leon, JA
Forensic scientist, Ventura County Sheriff's Department Forensic Sciences Laboratory, CA

(Received 8 April 2003; accepted 30 August 2003)

Abstract

Lugol's iodine staining technique was used to examine oral samples from 10 men and 10 women. Examination of saliva samples before and after extraction with water shows that the low levels (49 positive cells and 3,951 negative cells) of glycogen in buccal epithelial cells become even lower after water extraction (0 positive cells and 4,000 negative cells). In addition to the 20 samples used in this paper, 40 oral swabs extracted with water were examined under classroom conditions with much less than 1% of the epithelial cells being positive for glycogen. Furthermore, 119 saliva samples from chewed gauze in sexual assault kits were extracted with water and all of them yielded less than 1% glycogen positive cells. This paper proposes that when more than 1% of the nucleated squamous epithelial cells are glycogen positive with Lugol's test after extraction in water, it is reasonable to eliminate the mouth as a source of these glycogen positive cells.

Keywords:
forensic science, forensic biology, body fluid identification, vaginal cells, buccal cells, Lugol's iodine staining technique, glycogen in vaginal cells, nucleated squamous epithelial cells, epithelial cells, glycogen in buccal cells

Paper ID: JFS2003129
DOI: 10.1520/JFS2003129
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