[Sex determination in hair roots without sheath: proposal of a method for preparation of specimens]

Japanese authors have described a procedure for the sex determination of human hair roots without epithelial sheath, paraffin embedded and fluorescent stained for cortical cell nuclei Y or X sex chromatins. This method however is not sufficiently practical for forensic science purposes: it is difficult and not guaranteed to obtain suitable longitudinal hair sections with possible loss of evidence particularly serious when the questioned hair is only one. The authors, researching Y-bodies with Quinacrine, present an alternative technique of preparation of specimens without embedding which is simple and quick, reproducible and satisfying in results and that avoids loss of material.