Notes on Staining Techniques

Question 1

_________________ and _____________ is the most commonly used staining technique in histology and routine pathology.

Answer 1

Hematoxylin and eosin

Question 2

In hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, the basic dye, ___________________, stains acidic structures, including nuclei, ribosomes, and rough endoplasmic reticulum.

Answer 2

Hematoxylin

Question 3

What color does the basic dye hematoxylin dye structures in H&E staining?

Answer 3

Purplish blue

Question 4

_____________ is an acidic dye used in H&E staining that stains basic structures red or pink.

Answer 4

Eosin

Question 5

What proteins typically turn red or pink in H&E staining? Why?

Answer 5

Cytoplasmic proteins because eosin binds to basic structures

Question 6

What staining technique stains complex carbohydrates a deep red color?

Answer 6

Periodic acid-schiff reaction (PAS)

Question 7

______________ ____________ is a so-called connective tissue technique because it is used to demonstrate supporting tissue elements, principally collagen.

Answer 7

Masson trichome

Question 8

In masson trichome staining, three colors can be produced. What are they?

Answer 8

1. Blue
2. Green or blue
3. Bright red

Question 9

In masson trichrome staining, nuclei and other basophilic structures are stained _____________; collagen is stained ___________ or blue depending upon technique variant; and cytoplasm, nuclei, erthryocytes, and keratin are stained ___________.

Answer 9

Blue

Green

Bright red

Question 10

_______________ ___________ is a muscin stain that may be used in conjunction with other staining methods.

Answer 10

Alcian blue

Question 11

Certain types of mucin, but not all, are stained ____________ by the Alcian blue method, as is cartilage. When the technique is combined with van Gieson, however, the Alcian blue color becomes _____________.

Answer 11

Blue

Green

Question 12

__________ ___________ is another connective tissue method in which collagen is stained ___________, nuclei are blue, and erythrocytes and cytopasm _________________. When used in combination with an elastic stain, elastin is stained ______________.

Answer 12

van Gieson

Red

Yellow

Blue/black

Question 13

Which staining technique shows the reticulin fibers of supporting tissue, which are stained blue/black?

Answer 13

Reticulin stain

Question 14

This technique is traditionally classed as a connective tissue method but is excellent for demonstrating fine cytological detail, especially in epithelium.

Answer 14

Azan

Question 15

In the azan staining technique, nuclei stain _____________; collagen, basement membrane, and mucin stain ___________; and muscle and red blood cells stain orange to red.

Answer 15

Bright red

Blue

Question 16

This technique is a standard method for staining blood cells and other cell smears. Nuclei are stained dark blue to violet, background cytoplasm pale blue, and erthryocytes pale pink.

Answer 16

Giemsa

Question 17

This stain is one of the few stains that will differentially stain tissues in very thin epozy resin sections and is particularly used in high-resolution investigations of the glomerulus structures in health and disease.

Answer 17

Toluidine blue

Question 18

This method is applied to acrylic resin sections of undecalcified bone to distinguish between mineralized bone and unmineralized osteoid and has a hematoxylin component that stains the nuclei of osteoblasts, osteocytes, osteoclasts, and marrow cells.

Answer 18

Goldner’s tichrome stain

Question 19

These methods were popular in the 19th century but today are only occasionally used to demonstrate fine structures in cellular processes.

Answer 19

Silver and gold

Question 20

These techniques use a basic dye to stain the rough endoplasmic reticulum found in neurones.

Answer 20

Nissl and methylene blue

Question 21

____________ __________ and _____________ stain lipid-containing structures a brownish-black color for light microscopy. ________________ is also used as the staining agent for electron microscopy contrast, resulting in electron-dense structures.

Answer 21

Sudan black and osium

Osium

Question 22

Which group of techniques are vital for diagnostic purposes and research?

Answer 22

Immunohistological techniques

Question 23

Immunohistological Techniques

A section of tissue is placed on a glass slide, and a solution of ____(1)_____ is laid over the tissue and then excess is ____________. To demonstrate its position, the _____(1)______ is prelinked to an indicator substance. This may be a fluorescent substance like fluorescein, in which case the technique is known as _______________. It is more useful to bind the ___(1)_____ to an _________________ that is able to convert a colorless substrate to a colored product. Commonly used type is __________________, in which the tehnique is called __________________. A further modification of this principle for EM uses __________(1)__________ linked to _______, as it’s electron-dense, and can be detected via EM. This is known as _____________ _____________.

Answer 23

1. Antibodies
2. Washed
3. Antibody
4. Immunofluorescence
5. Antibody
6. Enzyme
7. Horseradish peroxidase
8. Immunoperoxidase technique
9. Gold
10. Immunogold labelling