National Forensic Doctor-Chapter 1102 - 1033: Epidermal Gloves

Today, many people came to observe, including leaders from directly administered agencies of Ningtai County, representatives from various funding sources, as well as some media and individuals outside the police system.

Someone with a sharp mind stepped forward, smiling before speaking: "Director Jiang plans to perform a live autopsy? Well... some of the people here today might not be quite used to such activities..."

The leader of the Taihe Working Group was referred to as "Director," so Jiang Yuan could now also be addressed as Director.

Jiang Yuan walked over to the corpse at this moment, shook his head, and said, "I won’t be performing a live autopsy. Recently, I’ve been conducting research and professional studies on fingerprint identification from drowning victims. I wanted to share this with everyone." He then added, "Being part of the Taihe Working Group, most of the cases we encounter involve drowning victims."

"That’s a great idea. However, non-police personnel who are uncomfortable with corpses may wish to excuse themselves," a leader from the provincial department said kindly.

Taking advantage of the moment, Jiang Yuan slowly donned latex gloves and began inspecting the objects around the dissection table.

No one left the room.

Even the accompanying media reporters, though somewhat uneasy about the corpse, managed to hold their ground.

After everything was ready, Jiang Yuan cleared his throat and said, "This corpse was discovered on the south side of the Tai River four days ago and was sent here today. It’s a male victim, with severe decomposition... We’re now attempting to extract fingerprints from it."

As Jiang Yuan spoke, he activated a temporary skill +1.

With this addition, the LV6 fingerprint analysis skill he had just acquired immediately leveled up to LV7.

At this level, it was already approaching unreasonable proficiency. The LV6 fingerprint analysis skill could practically make a trained police dog reconsider its vocation. LV7 could even conjure vivid impressions of fingerprints Jiang Yuan had studied in the past.

This level of expertise was reminiscent of Xu Limin, one of the legendary "Eight Tigers" in criminal investigation, who had memorized over 30,000 fingerprints during his youth, attributing it to natural talent. However, this was distinct from photographic memory, as Xu Limin clearly did not have those abilities with text.

For Jiang Yuan, he had already tested the LV6 fingerprint analysis skill yesterday, extracting fingerprints from a corpse without unfamiliarity regarding today’s work.

Of course, it wasn’t without challenges. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

The corpse discovered four days ago in Changyang had stumped the forensic center at the provincial capital, prompting them to send it here. Even so, the degree of decomposition was advanced enough that, previously, Jiang Yuan wouldn’t have been capable of extracting fingerprints.

"Typically, for corpses with severe decomposition, we try to extract epidermal gloves. The forensic doctor who examined it at the discovery site has already attempted this method without success," Jiang Yuan explained while preparing.

"Epidermal gloves involve peeling off the corpse’s epidermis and using it to press fingerprints by wearing it like a glove?" Wu Zhisu, captain of the Criminal Police Brigade at the Jianjiang Municipal Bureau, asked with piqued interest.

Many with police experience had heard of epidermal gloves, but few had seen them, especially police officers below the provincial level where forensic expertise was often limited.

Jianjiang City, with its dense waterways, including rivers, lakes, swamps, and mountains, had historically been a haven for bandits. Although professional criminals had long disappeared, the homicide rate remained high, and Jiang Yuan had solved multiple cases here, including serial murders.

Wu Zhisu, known for his fascination with new technologies, was acutely aware of the difficulty involved in creating epidermal gloves.

Jiang Yuan nodded and said, "After a corpse decomposes, the epidermis separates from the dermis. Using this characteristic, we can strip the epidermis off the fingers like a glove, forming an ’epidermal glove.’ Once cleaned with water and soaked in glycerin, if the fingerprints are intact, they can be placed on a living person’s hand, inked, and pressed for identification."

Such an explanation, if given in a casual setting, might elicit responses like "Ew, gross." But here, in the forensic building of the police bureau, men and women alike craned their necks for a closer look.

Jiang Yuan then added, "However, due to severe decomposition of the hands, this corpse is no longer suitable for making epidermal gloves, so other methods must be employed."

"What method?" a journalist, already permitted to take photos, asked onsite.

"Although the epidermis is heavily decomposed, it hasn’t entirely rotted away, only fragmented. We can attempt to piece it back together, although this method lacks a mature technical framework," Jiang Yuan explained while working.

The reporters, slightly puzzled, began whispering questions to familiar police officers.

Wan Baoming, from the Changyang City Criminal Science and Technology Center, stepped forward to clarify: "Director Jiang is trying a highly advanced fingerprint extraction method. Let me briefly explain."

His position made him the ideal spokesperson, as the leader from the provincial department smiled warmly and said, "I’d like to hear this as well."

Wan Baoming stepped forward, modestly prefaced his explanation, and then continued, "Fingerprint extraction from corpses depends on the degree of decomposition, typically categorized into four levels. Level one involves fresh corpses, where fingerprints are easiest to obtain. Level two involves rigor mortis cases, where finger stiffness is the primary challenge."

Wan Baoming elaborated, "For rigid fingers, various methods can be used, such as soaking them in warm water or manually warming them up to alleviate stiffness. Fingerprint extraction at level two is relatively straightforward and something we routinely handle."

Wan Baoming added, "Level three is desiccated corpses, which are primarily dehydrated. This requires injecting corpse wax or glycerin to restore the fingerlines. Such cases have greater difficulty, but our team at Changyang City Bureau frequently handles them and often undertakes tasks from other units."

With this explanation, those familiar and unfamiliar with the subject understood that level three fingerprint extraction was already the pinnacle of expertise in Shannan Province.

"Level four involves epidermal gloves. While the concept seems simple, execution is incredibly challenging, with high failure rates, often relying on luck. Successful cases are rare for our forensic team in Changyang City Bureau," Wan Baoming paused before continuing, "The conditions of this corpse exceed the capabilities of traditional forensic methods."

After considering a moment, Wan Baoming added, "As far as I know, performing fingerprint extraction beyond level four is unprecedented in the country. What Director Jiang is attempting now might be a first."

"There were rare instances of success, but they’re few and far between," Jiang Yuan interjected while continuing his work. "I’ve located several remaining fragments of epidermal layers, preliminarily identifying them as from the index finger. Since the epidermis is exceptionally thin now, conventional solutions like saline or formalin would cause further shrinkage. I’m opting to wash them carefully with clear water instead."

Jiang Yuan bent over and performed delicate operations, though his actions remained obscured from view.

"Alright, I will now mount this epidermal fragment onto a glass slide and photograph it as preserved evidence." Saying this, Jiang Yuan picked up a camera, took photos himself, and began analyzing the images.

Though Jiang Yuan’s words sounded matter-of-fact, this was more than a mere technical presentation. For the police officers present, it was a practical demonstration of an innovative method that every member of the Taihe Working Group could potentially benefit from.

As this realization set in, many attendees instinctively took out their phones to quietly contact professionals they knew and trusted.