IN THIS CHAPTER
Staining techniques for histological samples
How to stain blood
Differentiating bacteria with a Gram stain
Chapter 10
Important Staining
Techniques
Apart from a few natural pigments such as melanin, the cells and other elements
making up most specimens are colorless. In order to reveal structural
details and produce contrast, some form of staining is required.
Hematoxylin and Eosin: The Major Stain
in Histology
Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stain is one of the routine tissue stains used in histology.
It highlights various structures, organelles and other features and delivers
good overview images. Certainly it is no surprise to hear that it combines the
two histological stains hematoxylin and eosin … H&E stain is quite easy and fast
to apply to distinguish between cell nuclei and cytoplasm. As a result, you get
cell nuclei appearing blue, and cytoplasm and many extra-cellular components
in shades of pink. In histopathology, many conditions can be diagnosed alone by
examining an H&E.
If H&E Is Not Enough
Sometimes additional information is required. Some of the »special stains« use
dyes or metallic impregnations to define particular structures or microorganisms
or use immuno-histochemical methods (IHC) to locate diagnostically important
proteins with labeled antibodies. Molecular methods such as in-situ hybridization
(ISH) may also be required to detect specific DNA or RNA sequences. These