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Depending on the type of stain used a number of different banding patterns can be seen:
Depending on the type of stain used a number of different banding patterns can be seen:


* '''G-banding''' - banding pattern seen by treating with trypsin and then staining with the dye giemsa.
* '''G-banding''' - banding pattern seen by treating with trypsin and then staining with the dye [[Histology Stains#giemsa|Giemsa stain]]
* '''R-banding''' - banding pattern seen as a of reverse giemsa chromosome banding, producing bands complementary to G-bands often used to determine whether there are deletions. Can be fluorescent using the dye acridine orange.
* '''R-banding''' - banding pattern seen as a of reverse giemsa chromosome banding, producing bands complementary to G-bands often used to determine whether there are deletions. Can be fluorescent using the dye acridine orange.
* '''Q-banding''' - banding pattern seen by treating with a fluorochrome or the fluorescent dye quinacrin.
* '''Q-banding''' - banding pattern seen by treating with a fluorochrome or the fluorescent dye quinacrin.

Revision as of 13:15, 10 February 2016

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Introduction

This page gives a general overview of some histological stains used to identify structures in cells and tissues. This stains information should also be considered in relation to Histology Fixatives. To see related histology images use the Category:Histology link.

Medicine Foundations students do not need to know stain information in this detail.


Histology Links: stains | fixatives | artifacts | menstrual histology | placenta histology | heart histology | liver histology | Pancreas | Gall Bladder | Colon | Renal | Respiratory Histology | Bone | Category:Histology | UNSW Histology
  Historic Histology Textbooks: 1941 Histology] | 1944 Oral Histology
Histology Glossary: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | ANAT2241 Support | Histology | Histology Stains | Embryology Glossary
Histology Stains - Common Stains and Their Reactions
Stain
Nucleus
Cytoplasm
Collagen
RBCs
Other
Haematoxylin
blue
-
-
-
mucins - light blue
Eosin
-
pink
pale pink
bright red
colloid - pinkmuscle - red
Iron Haematoxylin
blue/black
-
-
-
Van Gieson
-
brown/yellow
red
yellow
muscle: yellow/browncartilage - pink
Verhoeff's Elastin
black
-
-
-
elastic fibres - black
Tartrazine
-
yellow
yellow
yellow
Silver Impregnation
-
-
grey/brown
-
reticular fibres - black
Methyl Green
dark green
light green
light green
green
Nuclear Fast Red
red
pink
pink
pink
Gomori's Trichrome
purple/red
purple
green
red
keratin - redmuscle - purple/red
Heidenhain's Azan
red
purple/red
deep blue
red
muscle - red
Osmium Tetroxide
-
-
brown
brown
myelin, lipids - black
Alcian Blue
-
-
-
-
mucins, - blue
Periodic acid-Schiff (PAS)
-
-
pink
-
mucins, glycogen, glycocalyx - magenta
Phosphotungstic Acid-Hematoxylin (PTAH)
blue
-
red
blue
muscle bands - blue
Masson's Trichrome
blue/black
red
green/blue
red
cartilage, mucins - blue or green; muscle - red
Luxol Fast Blue
-
-
-
variable
myelin - blue
Aldehyde Fuchsin
-
-
-
-
elastic fibres, mast cells - deep purple
Light Green
-
-
light green
-
Gallocyanin
dark blue
-
-
-
nucleic acids, Nissl granules - dark blue
Romanowsky (e.g. Leishman's)
blue
pink
acidophils - red, basophils - blue, azurophilic - purple
Aldehyde Pararosanilin elastic fibres - purple
Stain Templates

These templates put a link to this page and the appropriate stain text.

Use the text in the curly brackets to insert the text in the curved brackets with a link to the Histology Stains page.

Acid Phosphatase

  • Stains lysosomes due to their acid phosphatase content.
  • Enzymatic activity of acid phosphatase (lysosomal enzyme) releases a precipitate of lead phosphate from solution. This is then converted to lead sulphide black deposit.

Alcian Blue

Developing cartilage identified by alcian blue
  • Stains mucopolysaccharides or glycosaminoglycans
  • cationic dye (positively charged molecule) for the demonstration of glycosaminoglycans.
  • binds anionic (negative) sites on the polysaccharide.
  • can be combined with H&E and VG staining methods.
Links: Cartilage Development | Mouse E18.5 limbs

Alizarine Blue

Alizarine Brilliant Blue R

Alizarin Red

Developing bone identified by alizarin red
  • Useful for identifying bone or other hight calcium structures.
  • Stains insoluble calcium cations
  • bright red stain
  • Other metals such as barium, aluminium, mercury and magnesium (dark red)
Links: Bone Development | Mouse E18.5 limbs

Azocarmine

  • Stains nuclei a deep red and cytoplasm a pale red.

Best's Carmine

  • Stains glycogen granules red.
  • Periodic acid-Schiff is more commonly used and also colours glycogen red.

Cason's Trichrome

Stain developed by Cason (1950)[1] for muscle and collagen Aniline blue (methyl blue) colours collagen fibres.

  • red - nuclei
  • orange - erythrocytes
  • red - cytoplasm
  • blue - collagen

Stain constituents

  • Orange G
  • Acid fuchsin
  • Aniline blue (methyl blue)
  • Phosphotungstic acid
  • Distilled water

Chromosome Banding

Trisomy 21 Female Karyotype G-banding stain.

The term refers to the light and dark pattern, seen after staining with a dye, of individual chromosomes identified in metaphase. It is only in meiosis and mitosis during metaphase that chromosomes can be easily identified, during the normal cell life (interphase) the chromosomes are unravelled and distributed within the nucleus in chromosome territories. A band is that part of a chromosome which is clearly distinguishable from nearby regions by appearing darker or brighter with one or more banding techniques.

Depending on the type of stain used a number of different banding patterns can be seen:

  • G-banding - banding pattern seen by treating with trypsin and then staining with the dye Giemsa stain
  • R-banding - banding pattern seen as a of reverse giemsa chromosome banding, producing bands complementary to G-bands often used to determine whether there are deletions. Can be fluorescent using the dye acridine orange.
  • Q-banding - banding pattern seen by treating with a fluorochrome or the fluorescent dye quinacrin.
  • C-banding - banding pattern seen for centromeric or constitutive heterochromatin, the centromere appears as a stained band compared to other regions.


Metaphase is a cell division term referring to the third mitotic stage, mitotic spindle kinetochore microtubules align chromosomes in one midpoint plane. Metaphase ends when sister kinetochores separate. Originally based on light microscopy of living cells and electron microscopy of fixed and stained cells. A light microscope analysis called a "metaphase spread" was originally used to detect chromosomal abnormalities in cells.


Congo Red

  • Congo red is water soluble, yielding a red colloidal solution; though its solubility is better in organic solvents, such as ethanol.
  • Previously used as a dye, but its properties (toxicity, colour change) means that it is no longer used for this purpose.
  • Has been used to detect amyloid in muscle and nerve fresh frozen sections.

Golgi Method

  • (Golgi stain) A selective silver stain technique developed by Camillo Golgi (1843–1926) in 1873.
  • This historic technique allowed Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852–1934) to interpret the structure of the central nervous system.
    • There are also a range of other silver staining techniques (see silver staining reticular fibres).


Links: Camillo Golgi | Neural System Development | Cahal

Gomori's Trichrome

  • Developed in 1950 by an American histologist George Gömöri (1904–1957).

Gram Stain

Gram-positive Lactobacillus rods among squamous epithelial cells and neutrophils in vaginal smear (Image CDC)

A bacterial staining procedure using crystal violet and pink safranin counterstain that generally divides bacteria into either gram-positive or gram-negative and useful for considering associated pharmacology. The procedure was named after Hans Christian Gram (1853 - 1938).

Gram-positive bacteria

  • Purple crystal violet stain is trapped by layer of peptidoglycan.
    • peptidoglycan forms outer layer of the cell.

Gram-negative bacteria

  • Outer membrane prevents stain from reaching peptidoglycan layer in the periplasm.
    • outer membrane is composed of four major components: lipopolysaccharide, phospholipids, beta-barrel proteins, and lipoproteins.
  • outer membrane then permeabilized.
  • Pink safranin counterstain is trapped by peptidoglycan layer.
Links: Histology Stains | Abnormal Development - Bacterial Infection | Medical Microbiology - Gram stain procedure

Haematoxylin and Eosin

One of the most common staining techniques in pathology and histology.

  • Acronym "H and E" stain. (H&E, HE)
  • UK - Haematoxylin, USA - Hematoxylin

(Stain - Haematoxylin Eosin)Note - if you have clicked the stain name link where it appears on a page or image on this site it will bring you here,
use your web browser back button to return to your original page.


Haematoxylin

  • UK - Haematoxylin, USA - Hematoxylin
  • Stains nuclei blue to dark-blue.
  • Stains the matrix of hyaline cartilage, myxomatous, and mucoid material pale blue.
  • Stains myelin weakly but is not noticeable if combined with eosin stain.
  • combined with Orange G (H & Or. G.) instead of eosin, specifically stains the granules of acidophilic cells of the adenohypophysis (anterior pituitary).

Eosin

  • Stains cytoplasm pink to red; red blood cells are also bright red.
  • Common counterstain to hematoxylin.
  • Stain intensity varies with the formula as well as the fixative.


  • Eosin - (Greek, eos = dawn, rose-coloured) an acidic dye staining the basic cytoplasmic proteins pink.
  • Eosinophil - (Greek, + philein = to love) a type of blood cell with distinct cytoplasmic granules which stain pink with eosin.
  • Eosinophilic - having an affinity for eosin dye.


Leishman

  • Common blood smear stain.
  • Identifies different blood cells.
  • identifies infections such as malaria parasites and trypanosomas.
  • methylene blue and eosin.
  • dried precipitate known as "methylene azure" is sold as Leishman's Stain
  • variations include Wrights Stain (America) and Giemsa and May-Grünwald stains in Germany and Europe.
Links: Practical Lymphoid Tissues

Luxol Fast Blue

  • Myelin and phospholipids blue to green.
  • copper phthalocyanine dyes.
  • Counterstain with Cresyl violet (Nissl stain) to show neuron.
  • used as solutions in alcohol or other moderately polar liquids.



Links: Practical - Neural Histology

Mallory Trichrome Stain

(Mallory triple stain, Mallory aniline blue stain)

  • Stains connective tissue.

Masson’s Trichrome Stain

  • Stains nuclei deep blue, skeletal and smooth muscles red, collagen and mucin blue.
  • Stains brain and spinal cord parenchymal tissue dusky pink to red.
  • Used to evaluate fibrosis
  • Striations in skeletal muscles also shows up much better in Masson’s trichrome than in hematoxylin and eosin stain.
    • Although called a trichrome, four dyes (hematoxylin, Biebrich scarlet, acid fuchsin, and analine blue) are utilized.

Movat's stain

Fetal 11wk heart valve histology
  • Connective tissue stain including cardiovascular tissue.
  • Pentachrome (five colour) stain:
    • Black - nuclei; elastic fibres
    • Yellow- collagen fibres; reticular fibres
    • Blue - ground substance; mucin
    • Bright red - fibrin
    • Red - muscle
  • Named after Henry Zoltan Movat who originally developed in 1955 and later modified by H. K. Russell in 1972.
Links: Heart valve histology | Fetal 9wk heart valve histology | Fetal 11wk heart valve histology

Mucicarmine

(Mucin Stain, Al. carm.) Staining of acid mucopolysaccharides in tissue sections. Dye contains a large 2:1 dye-aluminum cationic complex, which is red. the mucicarmine solution is applied to sections after staining nuclei blue with a hemalum. the red dye-metal complex is attracted to anionic sites in the tissue (mucus, cartilage matrix, etc.) but it does not displace the nuclear stain. A yellow anionic dye such as picric acid or metanil yellow may optionally follow mucicarmine, as a cytoplasmic counterstain.[2]

  • Pink/Red - Mucin
  • Red - Capsule of Cryptococcus
  • Blue - Nuclei
  • Yellow - Other Tissue Components

Nissl

  • Staining nucleic acids (ribosomes, RER, heterochromatin, nucleoli).
  • methylene blue, toluidine blue or cresyl violet is used.

Orange G

  • A general cytoplasmic stain similar to eosin.
  • Stains cytoplasm yellow or orange.
  • Combined with Haematoxylin or Periodic acid-Schiff to specifically stain granules of acidophilic cells of the adenohypophysis (anterior pituitary).

Osmium Tetroxide

  • has a great affinity for lipids and is chemically bound to the fat and as such acts as a fixative.
  • using osmium as a 'stain' makes use of the fact that osmium oxidises tissue fats and forms a black substance which is easily seen in the light microscope.
  • adipose tissue, adipose cells, myelin sheaths.
  • (Stain - Osmium)Note - if you have clicked the stain name link where it appears on a page or image on this site it will bring you here,
    use your web browser back button to return to your original page.


Papanicolaou stain

(Papanicolaou's stain, Pap stain) This histology technique was originally described in a publication by George Nikolas Papanicolaou in 1942.[3] A multichromatic (five dyes) staining histological technique has been used to stain many different human bodily fluids (CSF, semen, aspirations), used mainly in the "pap smear" histology. The technique has also been modified several ways (Bismarck brown Y deleted) from the original published technique.

  1. Haematoxylin - nuclear stain is used to stain cell nuclei.
  2. Orange G - stains keratin.
  3. Eosin Y - stains superficial epithelial squamous cells, nucleoli, cilia, and red blood cells.
  4. Light Green SF yellowish - stains the cytoplasm of non-keratinized squamous cells.
  5. Bismarck brown Y - stains nothing specifically, often omitted.

Note - if you have clicked the stain name link where it appears on a page or image on this site it will bring you here,
use your web browser back button to return to your original page.

Vaginal Smears

Links: Menstrual Cycle - Histology

Periodic acid-Schiff

(PAS)

  • Stains glycogen, mucin, fungus, basement membrane and other substances.
  • Stain used to detect fungal organisms and cytoplasmic accumulation of glycogen.
  • Stains glycogen red, used in place of Best's Carmine.
  • Stains lysosomes granules red-purple, can be used in recognition of macrophages.

Periodic acid-Schiff / Orange G

  • Basophil cells - magenta
  • Acidophil cells - yellow
  • Red blood cells - yellow
  • Nuclei - blue/black
  • Chromophobes - pale blue/grey



Links: Pituitary Histology

Phloxine B

(Phloxine)

  • derivatives of eosin
  • used in the hematoxylin phloxine saffron (HPS) stain
  • stains paneth cell granules in Lendrum's phloxine-tartrazine method
  • used to demonstrate alcoholic hyaline
  • Formula - C20H2Br4Cl4Na2

PhosphoTungstic Acid Hematoxylin (PTAH)

  • Stains nucleus and cytoplasm detail and connective tissue fibers.
  • Stains collagen pink, fibrin blue, and striated muscle blue.
  • Historic stain used to show CNS reactive astrocytes now used immunochemistry for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP).

Picro-Mallory

(Picro-Mallory trichrome stain)

Regaud's Hematoxylin

  • Regaud's modification of iron hematoxylin.
  • Used to identify mitochondria by light microscopy.
  • material fixed in potassium dichromate and formalin and subsequently mordanted in dichromate.

Romanowsky

Leishman's stain'

  • commonly used version of Romanowsky stain for blood smears.
    • William Boog Leishman (1865 – 1926) was a Scottish pathologist.
    • Similar to other Romanowsky stains - Giemsa stain, Jenner's stain, and Wright's stain
  • Used to identify leucocytes, malaria parasites, and trypanosomas.
  • Methanol mixture of "polychromed" methylene blue (i.e. demethylated into various azures) and eosin.
  • Methanol also acts as fixative.

Schmorl's Stain

Bone (Schmorl's Stain)
  • Stains canaliculi and lamellae in compact bone sections.
  • Stain has 2 colouring agents, ammoniacal thionin and aqueous saturated picric acid.
    • thionin precipitates within the lacunae and canaliculi (dark brown)
    • picric acid forms picrates in the bone matrix (brownish-yellow)
  • Named after Christian Georg Schmorl (1861 - 1932) a German pathologist.

Silver Stain

(Silver Impregnation)

There are a variety of specialised silver staining techniques.

  • Stains connective tissue collagen (type I) a grey/brown and the specialised reticular fibre collagen (type III) a dark black.
  • Silver deposits can be formed by 3 different reactions: argentaffin, argyrophil, and Ion-exchange.

Beilschowsky Silver

Spinal cord histology

(Bielschowsky's silver staining)

  • Max Bielschowsky (1869 – 1940) was a Polish neuropathologist born in Breslau.
  • an improved method based upon Ramon y Cajal's historic method for selectively silver staining nerve fibres in neural tissue.


Links: Santiago Ramón y Cajal

Methenamine Silver

(Jone's Methenamine Silver)

  • Stains the basement membrane of the glomerulus in the kidney.
  • A routine stain on kidney biopsies.
  • Periodic acid oxidizes the carbohydrate components of the basement membrane which produce aldehydes.
  • Released aldehydes reduce the silver to a visible metallic silver (black).


Links: Renal System Histology

Sudan Black

  • adipose tissue stain.
  • stain colours fat (lipid) droplets black.
  • several different Sudan dyes
  • Sudan III and Sudan IV (Scarlet R.) stain fat droplets red (as does Oil-red-O).

Tartrazine

  • can be combined with Phloxine and Haem
    • tartrazine acts as a yellow counterstain for tissues stained red with phloxine
    • pancreatic islets - display pancreatic beta cells

Toluidine Blue

  • Stains nucleus blue and cytoplasm light blue.
  • A synthetic dye in the thiazins family.

Verhoeff-Van Gieson

  • Verhoeff-Van Gieson or elastic-Van Gieson (EVG) stain.
  • This is a combination of Verhoeff’s elastic stain which is a hematoxylin stain containing ferric chloride and Wright’s iodine solution and Van Gieson stain which contains acid fuchsin, picric acid, and hematoxylin.
  • Stains elastic fibers blue-black to black, collagen pale red, other tissue elements yellow, and nuclei blue to black.
  • Named after Ira Thompson Van Gieson (1866-1913) an American neurologist and neuropathologist and Frederick Herman Verhoeff (1874–1968) an American ophthalmic surgeon and pathologist.


Links: Colon Histology

Weigert's Elastic Tissue

  • Weigert's elastic tissue stain.
  • Elastic fibers purple or black.
  • combination of basic fuchsin, resorcin, ferric chloride, water and alcohol.

Wright

  • Wright's Blood Stain used on dried blood smears.
  • Nuclei blue or purple.
  • Granules - basophilic granules blue, acidophilic granules red, and neutrophilic granules reddish lilac.
  • Red blood corpuscles orange.
  • eosinates of polychromed methylene blue are dissolved in absolute methyl alcohol.
    • methyl alcohol acts as the fixative.

Whipf's Polychrome

A connective tissue staining technique.

Fixative

See Histology Fixatives


Embedding

Celloidin and paraffin are the two common embedding mediums used in histology prior to sectioning and staining.

  • celloidin embedding - allows good morphological preservation though is difficult to remove, and may affect immunostaining.
  • paraffin embedding - allows immunostaining to be performed, but preservation of fine cellular detail can vary.
  • polyester wax embedding - has a low melting point (37°C), is organic solvent soluble, is water tolerant, and sections easily.


References

  1. Cason, (1950) Stain technology, vol.25, pp.225
  2. Kiernan, J.A., Carbohydrate Histochemistry Chapter 9, 75-92.
  3. <pubmed>17842594</pubmed>| Science
  • Bancroft JD and Stevens A. Theory and practice of histological techniques. 3rd ed. Churchill Livingstone, 1990.
  • Freeman B, Glossary of histological and micro-anatomical terms Department of Anatomy, School of Medical Sciences, UNSW, revised 2000.

External Links

External Links Notice - The dynamic nature of the internet may mean that some of these listed links may no longer function. If the link no longer works search the web with the link text or name. Links to any external commercial sites are provided for information purposes only and should never be considered an endorsement. UNSW Embryology is provided as an educational resource with no clinical information or commercial affiliation.


Glossary Links

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Cite this page: Hill, M.A. (2024, March 28) Embryology Histology Stains. Retrieved from https://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/embryology/index.php/Histology_Stains

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© Dr Mark Hill 2024, UNSW Embryology ISBN: 978 0 7334 2609 4 - UNSW CRICOS Provider Code No. 00098G