Histopathologic Techniques: Gregoris - Chapter 12: Stains and Staining Solutions

Natural dyes, Synthetic dyes

These are the two categories of dyes wherein biological stains or coloring substances are prepared

Cochineal dyes, Logwood dyes, Vegetable extracts

These are the some of the cited examples of natural dyes

Aniline, Coal Tar dyes

These are the some of the cited examples of synthetic dyes

Natural dyes

These biological stain is obtained from plants and animals, previously utilized for dyeing of wool and cotton

Hematoxylin, Cochineal dyes, Orcein, Saffron

These are the common natural dyes available

Hematoxylin campechianum

This is the Mexican tree where the hematoxylin is extracted from

Hematoxylin

This is the most valuable staining reagent used by cytologist

Powerful nuclear and chromatin staining capacity, Striking polychrome properties

These are the two main reasons for the value of hematoxylin as reagents to cytologist

Hematin

This is the active coloring agent from ripening

Ripening

This is the formation of hematin from the oxidation of hematoxylin

Natural ripening

This is the oxidization of hematoxylin from the exposure of air and sunlight

Artificial ripening

This is the oxidation of hematoxylin from the strong oxidizing agents (such as hydrogen peroxide)

Natural ripening lasting to 3-4 months

This is the rationale for artificial ripening

Alum, iron, chromium and copper salts

These are the mordants frequently used along with hematin

Inherent low affinity to the tissue

This is the rationale for the use of hematin mordants

Coccus Cacti

This is the female cochineal bug where cochineal dyes is extracted from

Cochineal dyes

These are widely used powerful chromatin and nuclear stain for fresh material and smear preparations

Picrocarmine

Along with this substance, cochineal dyes become extensively used in neuropathological studies

Aluminum chloride (Best's carmine stain)

Along with this substance, cochineal dyes become used for demonstration of glycogen

Lichens

These are vegetable extracts where Orcein is extracted from

Treated with ammonia and exposed to air

These are the conditions that turn colorless Orcein into blue or violet

Staining elastic fibes

This the main use of orcein

Treated with lime and soda, and exposed to ammonia and air

These are the conditions in obtaining litmus form lichens

Indicator

This is the main use of litmus

Synthetic dyes

These are sometimes known as "Coal Tar Dyes" since they were originally manufactured from substances that have been taken from coal tar

Hydrocarbon benzene

These is where synthetic dyes are derived from

Aniline dyes

These are the collective name of synthetic names

Chromophores

These are substances with definite atomic groupings and are capable of producing visible colors

Chromogens

These are substances that contain simple benzene compounds

Auxochrome

This is an auxiliary radical or substance which imparts to the compound the property of electrolytic dissociation to retain the color of the tissue

Chromophore and an auxochrome group attached to a hydrogen benzene ring

These are the components of synthetic dyes

Acid, Basic, Neutral

These are the three group classification of synthetic dyes

Acid dye

This synthetic dye has its chromophore in the acid component

Acid dye

This anionic dye stains mainly cytoplasm, eosinophilic granules

Basic dye

This synthetic dye has its chromophore in the basic component

Basic dye

This cationic dye stains nuclei, basophilic granules or bacteria

Neutral dye

This synthetic dyes is formed by combining aqueous solutions of acid and basic dyes

Neutral dye

This dye stains the cytoplasm and nucleus simultaneously and differentially

Picric acid

This acid dye is the only substance that can fix, differentiate, or stain tissue all by itself

Trichloracetic Acid, Picric acid, Chromium

This fixative mix is usually favor staining with acidic dyes

Methylene blue

This basic dye which may be used both as an indicator and as a dye

Mercuric chloride and formaldehyde

This fixative mix is usually favor staining with basic dyes

Romanowsky Dyes

This neutral dye is used in hematology

Giemsa stain and Irishman's stain

This neutral dye is used for leukocyte differentiation

Hematoxylin, Iron Hematoxylin, Eosin

These are the common staining solutions used

Hematoxylin

This is the staining solution most commonly used for routine histologic studies

Aluminium salt lakes

This dye-mordant-tissue complex are usually colored blue with Hematoxylin

Ferric salt lakes

This dye-mordant-tissue complex are usually colored blue-black with Hematoxylin

Potassium aluminum sulfate

This is the mordant used in alum hematoxylin solution

Aluminum salts

This is the component in Alum Hematoxylin solution that increases the selectivity for nuclei

Ehrlich's and Harris

These are the two main alum hematoxylin solutions

Sodium iodate

This is the substance added to Ehrlich's reagent to rapidly ripen it

Mercuric chloride

This is the substance added to Harris reagent to rapidly ripen it

Aluminum hydroxide

This is the substance formed from the exposure of alum in alkaline solution

Failure to dissociate alum

This is the rationale for the RED appearance of alum in acidic solutions

Blueing

Washing sections in tap water or in alkaline solution causing hematoxylin to stain blue. This process normally follows differentiation in acid/alcohol

Iron Hematoxylin

This staining solution can be applied to tissues fixed in virtually all fixatives, producing permanent stains, provided that all iron mordants have been wiped out

Ferric salts

This component of iron hematoxylin ripens hematoxylin rapidly and are active oxidizing agents

Iron hematoxylin compounds

These are used only for differential or regressive staining

Weigert's and Heidenhain's

These are the two main iron hematoxylin solution employed for routine work in laboratory

Intense blue-black

This is the dye lake obtained when ferric salt are used as mordants

Ferric ammonium chloride

This is the mordant of the Weigert's Solution

Ferric ammonium sulfate

This is the mordant of the Heidenhain's solution

Weigert's solution

This is the standard iron hematoxylin used in the laboratory, especially for demonstrating muscle fibers and connective tissues

Weigert's solution

This iron hematoxylin solution is recommended when the preceding stains contain acid which decolorizes nuclei stained with alum hematoxylin

Heidenhain's solution

This is a cytological stain recommended for regressive staining of thin sections

Black, Dark grey-black

These are the resulting color of tissues when stained with Heidenhain's hematoxylin solution

Weigert's - Ferric chloride

This substance, in combination with van Gieson's stain, can demonstrate CT elements and Entamoeba histolytica sections

Van Gieson's stain

This reagent is good for demonstrating collagen

Heidenhain's solution

This solution is utilized for the demonstration of both nuclear and cytoplasmic inclusions such as chromatin, chromosome, nucleoli, centrosomes, and mitochondria.

Stand in light for several weeks

This is the natural ripening process of Phosphotongstic Acid Hematoxylin

Adding potassium permangenate

This is the artificial ripening process of Phosphotongstic Acid Hematoxylin

Nuclei, fibrin, muscle striations, myofibrils and fibroglia

These are the structures stained in blue with Tungsten hematoxylin

Collagen, bone, Cartilage

These are the structures stained in orange-red or brownish red to deep brick-red with Tungsten hematoxylin

Phosphotungstic Acid Hematoxylin (PTAH)

This stain usually demonstrates muscle structures in paraffin as well as celloidin and frozen sections

Copper Hematoxylin

This stain is usually used for spermatogenesis studies

Eosin

This is one of the most valuable stains used for differentially staining connective tissues and cytoplasm

Eosin

This is routinely used in histopathology as a counterstain after hematoxylin and before methylene blue

Eosin

This is commonly used as a background stain because it gives a pleasing and colorful contrast to nuclear stains

Eosin Y, Bluish, Ethyl eosin

These are the three forms of Eosin

Eosin Y

This is the most commonly used form of Eosin

Green yellow fluorescence

This is the resulting appearance of samples stained with Eosin y

Bluish

This is the eosin form producing deeper red color

Ethyl eosin

These are rarely used eosin forms

Acid Fuchsin-Picric Acid (Van Gieson's stain)

This is a mixture of picric acid and acid fuchsin for the demonstration of connective tissues

Acridine orange

This is a basic acridine fluorochrome which permits discrimination between dead and living cells, giving green fluorescence for DNA and a red fluorescence for RNA

Acridine red 3b

This is used to demonstrate deposits of calcium salts and possible sites of phosphatase activities

Alcian blue

This is a complex, water-soluble phthalocyanin dyes, similar to chlorophyll, which stains acid mucopolysaccharides by forming salt linkages with them

Alcian blue

This is a more specific dye for connective tissue and epithelial mucin due to its use as an acid solution

Aniline blue

This is a cytoplasmic stain used for counterstaining of epithelial sections

Basic fuchsin

This is a plasma stain utilized also for deep staining of acid-fast organisms, for mitochondria, for differentiation of smooth muscles with the use of picric acid

Benzidine

This stain is used for staining hemoglobin

Bismack brown

This stain is used as a contrast stain for Gram's technique, in acid fast and Papanicolau method, and for staining diptheria organisms

Carmine

This is used as a chromatin stain for fresh materials in smear preparations

Mayer's Carmalum solution

This is a mordanted dye acting as a basic dye and staining acidic substances

Celestine blue

This is resistant to strong acid dyes, and is recommended for routine staining of fixed sections, giving good nuclear definition when used in conjunction with alum hematoxylin

Congo red

This is best known as an indicator, but may be utilized as a stain for axis cylinder in embryos

Crystal violet

This is a nuclear or chromatin stain used for staining amyloid in frozen sections and platelets in blood

Gentian violet

This is the staining solution formed by the mixture of crystal violet, methyl violet and dexterin

Giemsa stain

This is used for staining blood to differentiate leukocytes