Blood on the Shroud
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The following graphic shows the blood stains enhanced in black for clarity. [© Vernon Miller, 1978]
Characteristics of the Blood
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The blood on the Shroud is real human blood of type AB, somewhat more common among Semites. The Sudarium matches that type AB blood. [Bennett 2001, 84]
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X and Y chromosomes appear in the deteriorated DNA. That and the physique of the occupant of the Shroud clearly imply male sex. [Antonacci 2000, 28]
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The blood penetrates the cloth and is visible on the inner and outer surfaces of the Shroud.
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The color of the blood is unusually red, more like fresh blood, not scab-like brown or black—as would be expected after two millennia. But changes in the blood of persons under great stress or suffering, like a crucifixion victim, would have a higher bilirubin pigment. Alternatively, this characteristic may imply that the blood was exposed to radiation. [Antonacci 2000, 29]
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The blood stains are surrounded by dried serum—exactly the physiological effect (syneresis) when blood coagulates and contracts. A clot leaves a serum border, which fluoresces in ultraviolet light—as do the Shroud's blood marks. [Antonacci 2000, 26-27,42-43]
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Dr. Pierre Barbet and Paul Vignon in the 1930s found it difficult to transfer blood to a linen cloth with the precision exhibited on the Shroud. If too fresh and wet, the blood wicks along the fibers. If too clotted, it leaves only a smudge. [Vignon 1970]
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Because no image is present beneath the blood, the application of image to the Shroud happened after the blood was applied. [Baltz 2022] This would not be the way an artist would do it, because it would be hard to get accurate registration between the image and the blood.