Second degree relative – A second degree relative is a grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew or half sibling.

Self collection – A cheek swab sample that is collected by the party to be tested. It is usually obtained in a non-clinical setting such as a person’s home.

Semen screen – A biological test conducted to detect the presence of acid phosphatase and Prostatic Specific Phosphatase that are present in seminal fluid.  This may be conducted in cases of suspected infidelity.

Sibship Test – A test to determine if two or more individuals are biologically related as either full or half siblings.

STR – STR is an acronym for Short Tandem Repeat. STR’s are short sections of DNA that contain a nucleotide sequence which is repeated a number of times in certain sites on specific chromosomes. The number of repeats differs from individual to individual within the population. These sections of DNA are examined in DNA identity testing.

Standard Paternity Case - For the purposes of testing turnaround time, a standard paternity case is defined as the analysis of cheek swabs from a mother, one child and alleged father. A test without the child's mother, a test involving multiple children or a test involving a sample other than a cheek/buccal swab is not considered to be a standard case.

Surrogate mother – A surrogate mother agrees to become pregnant for the purpose of gestating and giving birth to a child for others to raise. She can be the child’s genetic mother or could have been implanted with a zygote from another woman and man.