Toxicological analysis.

Toxicology departments are among the busiest in most forensic laboratories, owing to the pervasiveness of drug and alcohol use and the potential for the involvement of these substances in a wide range of case types. Toxicological analysis may be performed on a variety of sample types, including materials of biological and nonbiological origin. Typical biological samples include blood, urine, visceral tissues (such as tissues from the liver), stomach contents, hair, and saliva. Nonbiological samples may include portions of food and/or beverages, syringes, and other items. The analysis may be qualitative (for example, simple identification of the presence of a substance within a sample) or quantitative, where the amount or concentration of a toxin contained within the sample is important for toxicological interpretation.