Police officers should recognize both that victims are distraught and that an immediate examination is crucial for the proper collection of evidence. The victim should be transported to a local hospital or rape trauma center, where nurses or physicians can gather the appropriate physical evidence. The evidence should include vaginal, oral, and/or anal swabs; smear slides; additional swabs of the thighs; pubic combings; debris such as soil and fibers; the victim's clothing; dried saliva; and head and pubic hair from the victim and suspects; and other samples. After being dried, the samples should be refrigerated or frozen. In addition, the police officer's initial interview of the victim should cover not only the date, time, and location of the assault and the description of the perpetrator, but also the victim's washing, vomiting, or other activities after the assault. They should also provide detailed information to crime laboratory personnel to permit the most thorough possible forensic analysis. Photographs and discussions of deoxyribonucleic acid profiling and of the role of serology.