Lecture on Staining Techniques

These flashcards summarize various staining techniques, their uses, and characteristics.

Iodine

Oldest stain used to stain amyloid for microscopic study of starch granules.

Hematoxylin

Natural dye derived from the heartwood of a Mexican tree, used in staining; turns to Hematin upon ripening.

Eosin

Most valuable stain, used as a counterstain; comes in Eosin B and Eosin Y variants.

Methylene Blue

Common basic nuclear stain valuable for staining plasma cells.

Methylene Violet

Metachromatic dye used for staining leukocytes.

Toluidine Blue

Nuclear stain substitute for thionine, used for fresh frozen tissue.

Crystal Violet

Stains amyloid, fungi, and platelets in blood.

Aniline Blue

Counterstain for epithelial cells.

Basic Fuschin

Plasma stain that provides deep staining for acid-fast organisms.

Van Gieson

Mixture of picric acid and acid fuschin used to demonstrate connective tissue.

Giemsa

Used for staining blood to differentiate leukocytes.

Celestine Blue

Resistant to strong acids; recommended for routine staining of fixed sections.

Malachite Green

Stains Ascaris eggs, RBCs, and functions as both a decolorizer and counterstain.

Methyl Green

Stains chromatin green; can give false positive reactions with certain secretions.

Feulgen’s stain

Most reliable histochemical staining technique for DNA.

Bismarck Brown

Contrast stain used in Gram’s staining and Acid Fast methods.

Von Kossa Silver Nitrate

Used to stain calcium, resulting in a black color.

Prussian Blue

Colored salt of ferric ferrocyanide, primarily used in paint manufacture.

Orcein

Excellent stain for elastic fibers, turns blue or violet when exposed to ammonia.

Picric acid

Used for demonstrating connective tissue as both a fixative and stain.

Carmine

Used as a chromatin stain for fresh smear preparations.

Alcian Blue

Stains mucopolysaccharides, specific for connective tissue and epithelial mucins.

Neutral Red

Stains cell granules and vacuoles in phagocytic cells.

Congo Red

Best known as an indicator, utilized as a stain for elastic tissues.

Janus Green B

Used for demonstrating mitochondria during intravital staining.

Victoria Blue

Used for demonstrating neuroglia in frozen sections.

Night Blue

Substitute for Carbol Fuschin stain.

Methyl Green Pyronin

Stains DNA green to blue-green and RNA rose-red.

Acridine Red 3B

Demonstrates deposits of calcium salts and phosphatase activities.

Acridine Orange

Discriminates between dead and living cells based on fluorescence.

Rhodamine B

Stains blood and glandular tissues.

Benzidine

Used for staining hemoglobin.

Sudan Black

Stains phospholipids.

Sudan IV/Scharlach R

Stains triglycerides and neutral lipids deep red.

Sudan III

Stains fats orange.

Silver nitrate

Used in staining spirochetes, reticulum, and fibers.

Azocarmine

Used for staining connective tissues.

Periodic Acid Schiff (PAS)

Histochemical stain used for the demonstration of carbohydrates, particularly glycogen.

Aldehyde Fuschin Stain (Gomori)

Used for differential staining of pancreatic islets.

Mallory’s Phosphotungstic Acid Hematoxylin (PTAH)

Stains for muscles and bones; identifies astrocytes.

Lissamine Fast Red Tartrazine Method

Demonstrates muscle.

Osmic Acid/Osmium Tetroxide stain

Used for staining fats.

Levaditi’s method

Specifically for staining spirochetes.

Masson Fontana Technique

Stains melanin, resulting in a black color.

Gmelin’s Test

Diagnostic test for bile pigments.

Perl’s Prussian Blue

Stains hemosiderin, which is an iron-containing pigment of hemoglobin.

Benzidine method

Used for identifying hemoglobin.

Cajal’s Gold Sublimate

Stains for astrocytes.

Bielschowsky’s Technique

Specifically stains neurons, axons, and neurofibrils.

Weigert-Pal Technique

Used to visualize normal myelin sheaths.

Lindquist’s Modified Rhodamine

Used in staining procedures, specific purpose not stated.

Copper Gram-Twort

Used for bacteria staining.

Brown and Brenn (B&B)

Stains bacteria, nocardia, and actinomyces.

Cresyl Violet Acetate

Stains Helicobacter.

Dieterle

Specifically for Legionella pneumophilia.

Warthin-Starry/Levaditi’s methods

Used for staining spirochetes.

Grocott Methamine Silver (GMS)

Stains fungi.

Orcein method

Used for detecting Hepatitis B surface antigen.