Question For Medical and/or Lab People

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Running Arrow Bill

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To set the stage: I am an avid fan of the medical & crime shows, especially CSI, Dr. G Medical Examiner, Trauma in the ER, etc.

I realize that ALL of these shows use extreme condensation of time to fit everything in a one hour program. And, I realize that in "real life" all of these workers are not extremely beautiful, sexy, and all.

Now, the REAL question:

In reality, how long does it take to obtain lab results back from a DNA sample?

In reality, how long does it take to obtain lab results from a Toxic Screen?

In reality, how long does it take to do an average condition of a corpse Forensic Autopsy (after the body is on the table)?

Will appreciate any answers to these curious questions of mine! :D
 
Real Question 1 and 2.

It depends on the status of the folks involved.

Real Question 3.

Averages take into account everyone involved.

Not trying to being smart.
 
Running Arrow Bill":1reeumt1 said:
To set the stage: I am an avid fan of the medical & crime shows, especially CSI, Dr. G Medical Examiner, Trauma in the ER, etc.

I realize that ALL of these shows use extreme condensation of time to fit everything in a one hour program. And, I realize that in "real life" all of these workers are not extremely beautiful, sexy, and all.

Now, the REAL question:

In reality, how long does it take to obtain lab results back from a DNA sample?

In reality, how long does it take to obtain lab results from a Toxic Screen?

In reality, how long does it take to do an average condition of a corpse Forensic Autopsy (after the body is on the table)?

Will appreciate any answers to these curious questions of mine! :D

In reality these shows are not even close. I did some forensic studies in college and it is amazing the teams that are needed to solve a crime. A dna sample diagnostics is not just simply scanning and entering info into a computer. Tox screens depending on what they are looking for can take weeks especially if they are questioned and retested.

As for the corpse they usually take all vital organs out ,weigh them and bag them , blood and tissue samples are collected and stored and can be referred to for a very long time. Heck even a simply tire print smudge is more complicated than they lead you to believe.

If you really want to know about real life CSI labs and crime scene investigators, as well as pathologist there are many good books out there. Or look up some thesis studies of our greatest known serial killers and famous murderer cases ,the information is endless and tedious . It is alot more than what you watch on TV or read in your average thriller novel.

I forgot to add that the majority women in this field do not look like they do on TV either , and the men are even further from it. :help:
 
My son used to get bags of guts back from the pathologist to replace inside a corpse.
 
Lammie":1xly3qwo said:
My son used to get bags of guts back from the pathologist to replace inside a corpse.

Why would they put them back in ?
 
TMI Lammie--TMI :lol2:
I'd say time depends on how much media coverage the "event" has--as far as I can tell MJs still haven't came back--and Billy Mays just did--showed traces of cocane :shock:
I'm all for DNA testing--I want the right guy taken out of the gene pool.
 
Again, I do realize that the TV shows are written in the simplistic and time condensation. But I do enjoy the "entertainment".

Back to my questions:

Here's a scenario:

A CSI/Forensic Lab Technician receives a DNA sample at their Lab. It is then initially "processed" (whatever that means) for DNA analysis (done at their or a nearby Lab). The DNA scientist processes the sample, does the Lab analysis, and eventually gets the results from the computer. Are we talking about several hours? Several days? for the "computer" to do the analysis and print out a report???

On a sidebar, I do know that in a Hospital setting, the medical personnel can take a blood sample, urine sample, etc. and process it quickly for a Trauma Unit Patient or the Surgical Theater Patient if necessary...the Hospital's Lab is merely told to process the speciment "STAT" and it gets done.
 
DNA takes at least 2 weeks-"growing" the strands takes as long as it takes-no hurryup with that-if there's a backlog,years..
 
peg4x4":3loww4fs said:
DNA takes at least 2 weeks-"growing" the strands takes as long as it takes-no hurryup with that-if there's a backlog,years..

Thank you!

I did see one Lab site to process livestock DNA. Their info page said they could process DNA results in about 5 to 7 days.

We ALL KNOW it takes a heck of a lot more time to process a sample than merely dropping a sample in a test tube, inserting it in a machine, and getting a full color print-out in 45 seconds...as seen on CSI TV...LOL!!!
 
peg4x4":3cotv05f said:
DNA takes at least 2 weeks-"growing" the strands takes as long as it takes-no hurryup with that-if there's a backlog,years..

My friend at uni uses chemicals to clone sections of DNA and that takes 2 days alone so i imagine 2 weeks would be close. she says that now that she does it, cloning dna is no big deal. She was expecting a bang or something but apparently it's really boring :lol:
 
"DNA analysis" consists of several steps. Extracting and amplifying DNA by PCR can take from several hours to 1-2 days of actual lab work. However, it is not always practical to "analyze" a single sample. PCR machines are designed to work with dozens to hundreds of samples at the same time. Running a single sample is inefficient and expensive.

The actual genotype analysis also can take from a few hours to 1-2 days. And, again, is more efficient with multiple samples.
 
curtis":3iea9ox8 said:
Lammie":3iea9ox8 said:
My son used to get bags of guts back from the pathologist to replace inside a corpse.

Why would they put them back in ?

I have no idea. I didn't ask. I don' t think it happened often, just if a body were autopsied. I thought they were replaced and sewn up again. Lots I know. It was just one of his stories.
 
jedstivers":33h9q4mr said:
Lammie":33h9q4mr said:
My son used to get bags of guts back from the pathologist to replace inside a corpse.
There has got to be a better job than that.

Believe it or not, it's all in a day's work. It's what he's wanted to do since he was about 15. And he's a pretty normal looking kid.... Ya know, to be MINE.
 
Why do bodies in a casket always have an extremely flat abdomen area....even those that were rather large in the belly area during their lifetime??
 
TexasBred":2xqqvta8 said:
Why do bodies in a casket always have an extremely flat abdomen area....even those that were rather large in the belly area during their lifetime??

Gravity. You ever notice how the faces flatten out?
 
Lammie":6xt3vx6r said:
TexasBred":6xt3vx6r said:
Why do bodies in a casket always have an extremely flat abdomen area....even those that were rather large in the belly area during their lifetime??

Gravity. You ever notice how the faces flatten out?
Actually, they turn quite puffy usually. I think it depends on how soon they hit the refrigerator and are processed.

Most deaths require an autopsy, (stomach contents have samples removed/tested) and the organs are removed ,weighed and samples taken, so the bodies are pretty much hollow when they are embalmed.
 
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