Special Stains in Histopathology An Oral Pathology Perspective

Journal of Dental Health and Oral Research
Open Access Review Article
Special Stains in Histopathology: An Oral Pathology Perspective

Balamanikandan P1, Varsha Salian2*, Pushparaja Shetty3
1
Post Graduate, NITTE (Deemed to be University), AB Shetty Memorial institute of Dental Sciences
(ABSMIDS), Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Mangalore, Karnataka, India
2
Reader, NITTE (Deemed to be University), AB Shetty Memorial institute of Dental Sciences (ABSMIDS),
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Mangalore, Karnataka, India
3
Professor and Head, NITTE (Deemed to be University), AB Shetty Memorial institute of Dental Sciences
(ABSMIDS), Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Mangalore, Karnataka, India
*
Corresponding Author: Varsha Salian, Reader, NITTE (Deemed to be University), AB Shetty Memorial
institute of Dental Sciences (ABSMIDS), Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Mangalore,
Karnataka, India; Email: varu_2002@yahoo.com
Received Date: 16-11-2021; Accepted Date: 12-12-2021; Published Date: 20-12-2021
Copyright© 2021 by Balamanikandan P, et al. All rights reserved. This is an open access article distributed under
the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Stains play a vital role in any histopathological laboratory. The term "stain" denotes any dye,
reagent, or material that is used for colouring tissues and microorganisms to aid in the
microscopic study. Hematoxylin and eosin are the basic, routine and universal stains used in
all laboratories. But, specific components, structures, or substances of the tissue can accept
only a particular specific type of stain based on their chemical and biological structure or
nature. In such cases the use of a special stain is inevitable. Various special stains are being
used in histopathological laboratories. We conducted a computerized database search in
Pubmed and Google scholar to identify and collect data regarding special stains. Here in this
article, we present a brief overview of special stains used in oral pathology.
Keywords
Cytology; Hematology; Histochemistry; Histological Technique; Tissue Stains
Balamanikandan P | Volume 2; Issue 3 (2021) | JDHOR-2(3)-037 | Review Article
Citation: Salian V, et al. Special Stains in Histopathology: An Oral Pathology Perspective. J Dental
Health Oral Res. 2021;2(3):1-19.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46889/JDHOR.2021.2306
2
Introduction
A "stain" is any dye, reagent, or material used for colouring tissues or microorganisms for
microscopic study. Hematoxylin and eosin (H and E) are routine and the initial stains to be
used in all tissue sections for diagnosis, but H and E stains alone are inefficient at times for an
etiologic, histogenetic, or pathogenetic prediction of disease. Hence a pathologist may require
a definitive or additional 'special' diagnostic method and special stains. "Special stains" are so-
called because they are not routinely used in staining procedures. The term "special stains"
came into use after H and E was introduced in the year 1876. Now, this term includes all the
alternative staining techniques other than H and E [1].
Diagnosis and research are two broad fields where the special stains help in the identification
of specific chemical components in abnormal and normal cells [2]. Special stains constitute
various dyes and staining methods for a particular tissue, structure, and pathogens which gives
a tissue-based diagnosis [3]. They have a significant role in demonstrating various cellular
products like carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, pigments, amyloid, microbial organisms, DNA
and RNA content of the cell [4].
Evolution of Special Stains
The history of staining dates back to the 17th century where scientists stained the tissue with
naturally occurring materials such as indigo, madder, saffron, and phytolacca and studied the
tissue by using rudimentary microscopes. Prussian blue (1774) and Picric acid (1788) are some
of the oldest stains to be used in this era.
In the mid-1800, there were great developments in the manufacture of a variety of new
histologic stains beginning with aniline dye in 1856, which was the first of the synthetic dyes
which were discovered by William Henry Perkin. Hematoxylin, the routine stain in
histopathology and a naturally occurring substance, was reported to be first used by Wilhelm
von Waldeyer in 1863.
The Ziehl-Neelsen technique came into application in 1882 while Robert Koch developed a
technique for tubercle bacillus, Hans Christian Gram in 1884 introduced the Gram stain for
identification of Gram-positive organisms.
In 1959, Ann Preece categorized stains into three groups as routine, vital, and special stains. In
which, special stains have a more limited range which can reveal special features such as
bacteria, fungi, specific cell products, intracellular and intercellular products.
3
The 20th century brought new staining techniques such as silver impregnation techniques for
nerve tissue. This was followed by the introduction of dyes such as hematoxylin with eosin Y,
congo red, or safranin, combinations of basic dyes such as methylene blue, crystal violet, or
one of the azures to stain the nuclei with some contrasting acid dyes to stain the cytoplasm of
the cells.
The modern age introduced a few more histological staining techniques such as Masson's
trichrome for connective tissues, Golgi stain for neuronal fibers, toluidine blue for mast cells
and as vital stain, Kluver-Barrera stain for Lipofuscin, Mallory's CT stain and Periodic Acid
Schiff (PAS) for glycogen [1].
The chemical and biological processes involved in special staining methods depend on the
essential chemical processes of reduction and oxidation that rely on the use of acids, bases, and
buffers for an optimum presentation [5,6].
Classification of Special Stains
Special stains can be classified according to the type of tissue, organs, substance/fluids and
pathology of interest (Table 1) [5-7].
I. Classification of special stains by Juan Rosai and Ackerman [5].

Periodic Acid-Schiff (PAS) Stains for melanin
Organism stains Calcium and iron
Argentaffin and argyrophilic stain Stains for neutral lipids
Amyloid stains Mucin stains
Reticulin stains Giemsa stains
Trichrome stains Elastic stains
Phosphotungstic acid hematoxylin Myelin stains
· Formaldehyde induced fluorescence
II. Classification of special stains by Culling CF [6].
Connective tissue Muscles
Nucleic acid Amyloid
Proteins Enzymes
Carbohydrates Micro-organisms
Lipids Nervous system
Endogenous pigments Hard tissue - bone
Artefact deposits
4
III. Classification of special stains by Wulff S, et al. according to the

appliciton in specific tissues [7].
Nucleus and Cytoplasm Mucicarmine
Nucleic Acids Alcian Blue
Feulgen Stain Alcian Blue/PAS
Methyl Green-Pyronin Y Stain Colloidal Iron
Polychromatic Stains Congo Red
Connective Tissue, Muscle Fibers and Lipids Microorganisms
Reticular Fibers Gram Stain
Reticulin nuclear fast red stain Acid-Fast Bacteria Stain
Basement Membranes Grocott’s Methenamine Silver Stain
Jones basement membrane stain Warthin-Starry Stain
Elastic Fibers Alcian Yellow/Toluidine Blue Stain
Verhoeff-Van Gieson (VVG) stain Giemsa Stain
Mast Cells Periodic Acid-Schiff-Green Stain
Toluidine blue Pigments
Muscle Melanin
Trichrome Stains Uratesemosiderin
One step Gomori’s Trichrome Stain Minerals
PTAH (phosphotungstic acid-hematoxylin) Calcium
Modified Russel-Movat Pentachrome Copper
· Lipids Nervous System
Sudan and oil red O dyes Cresyl Violet Stain
Bielschowsky Method
Carbohydrates and Amyloid Glial Cells
Periodic Acid-Schiff (PAS) Myelin(3)
PAS with Diastase
Table 1: Classification of special stains.
Stains Used to Demonstrate Nucleic Acids
Feulgen Technique
Feulgen and Rossenbeck's technique is the regular method for DNA demonstration. The stain
works under the principle of Purine-deoxyribose bond breakage with minor acid hydrolysis
employed at 1M hydrochloric acid at 60°C, exposing the aldehydes which are then revealed
using Schiff reagent. Fixation of the tissue is done by formalin as Carnoy’s and Bouin's fixative
5
is not suitable for this technique. After the staining procedure, DNA appears red-purple and the
cytoplasm appears green in colour [8,9].
Methyl Green-Pyronin
This technique can demonstrate both DNA and RNA. Combination of methyl green and
pyronin, which are cationic, methyl green binds to DNA specifically, and pyronin binds with
RNA. DNA can be demonstrated with a bluish-green appearance, and RNA appears red [10].
Connective Tissue Stains
Connective tissue is the supporting structure that provides the connection between cells and
organs of the body. Collagen, elastic fibers, and reticular fibers are the three main types of
connective tissue in which collagen fibers can be demonstrated by H and E stain, whereas
elastic and reticular fiber cannot be visualized using H and E, and hence special stains are used
under these conditions [11].
Van Gieson Method
Van Gieson is one of the earlier methods and is still being used to demonstrate collagen, which
appears red after staining. Van Gieson stains help to differentiate between smooth muscle and
collagen fibers and an increase in collagen (Fig. 1). In combination with picric acid and acid
fuchsin, the tiny molecules of picric acid penetrate rapidly into red blood cells and muscle fiber,
and hence they can be demonstrated well [12].
6
Figure 1: Van Giesion stained section demonstrating collagen in red colour and muscles in
yellow colour, under 10x magnification.
Trichrome Stains
Trichrome is a common staining procedure used to demonstrate nuclei, cytoplasm and

extracellular collagen in three different colours. Trichrome has three dyes; out of one is a
nuclear stain. Trichrome can differentiate three different tissue elements such as collagen,
muscle and fibrin in three different colours, and red blood cells and nuclei are selectively
demonstrated. The muscle fibers are demonstrated red in colour, collagen fibres in blue colour,
nucleusblue/black and other structures such nuclei, cytoplasm, erythrocytes appear blue or
black and red, respectively [6,11].
Mallory's Trichrome
Mallory's trichrome is the recommended method for the nuclear stain. There are several
modifications of this technique, but the original method is usually followed, which gives deep
blue collagen fibres, red-coloured muscles and fibrin, deep blue colour and RBCs, myelin are
stained yellow (Fig. 2) [6].
7
Figure 2: Section stained with Mallory’s Trichrome demonstrating collagen in blue, muscle
fibers in red and other structures in blue to black colour, under 10x magnification.
Lipid Staining Methods
Oil Red O and Sudan Black B techniques are used for the demonstration of fats and
phospholipids in which lipids demonstrate brilliant red in oil red O technique, and unsaturated
esters and triglycerides appear blue to black. In Sudan black B technique, phospholipids appear
grey, and under polarized light, phospholipids in myelin exhibit bronze dichroism [13,14].
Nervous Tissue Staining Methods
The nervous tissue is composed of nervous tissue proper, neuroglia which is a particular type
of connective tissue, and connective tissue proper. The most popular technique for
demonstrating neurons is Bielschowsky, which gives brown to black coloured nerve cells and
neurofibrils and axons, and dendrites [15]. Stains used in various tissue are consisted in Table
2.
Stains Used In Interpretation

Feulgen and Rossenbeck’s DNA Red-Purple
Methyl green-pyronin DNA and RNA DNA- Bluish green
RNA- Red
Van Gieson Collagen fibers Red
8
Mallory's Trichrome Nucleus, Collagen fibers Nucleus- Blue/black

and Muscle fibers. Collagen fibers- Deep Blue
Muscle fibers- Red
Oil Red O and Sudan Black B Lipid Phospholipids- Grey
Under polarized light,
phospholipids in myelin
exhibit bronze dichroism
Bielschowsky Nervous tissue Black
Perl's Prussian blue Hemosiderin and iron Blue
Masson-Fontana Melanin Black
Von Kossa Calcium Black
Alizarin red S Calcium Orange-red
Van Gieson Amyloid Yellow/Brown
Gram's iodine Amyloid Mahogany brown
Congo red Amyloid Under Polarizing -Green
birefringence
Table 2: Special stains used different tissues.
Stains for Demonstration of Microorganisms
The microorganisms can be broadly classified into bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Special stains
play a significant role in identifying microorganisms in tissues and smears and helps to study
the morphology and characteristic features of these organisms (Table 3) [16].
Stains Used In Interpretation

Gram's Stain Bacterial Infection Gram negative- Purple
Gram positive- Pink
Zeihl-Neelsen Stain acid-fast tubercular bacilli Red
Grocott's methenamine silver Fungal infection Black
Phloxine-tartrazine Viral inclusion Bright red
Table 3: Special stains for demonstration of microorganisms.
Bacteria
Gram's Stain
Hans Christian Gram in 1884 introduced Gram stain, which helps to detect gram-positive
bacteria. The basic concept behind this stain is that abundant peptidoglycan on the cell wall of
9
Gram-positive bacteria retains the crystal violet dye in the cell wall. In the presence of acetone,
the diffusion between dye iodine complex is absent, and hence the blue colour is retained by
the Gram-positive organism. In the case of gram-negative bacteria, the diffusion between the
dye-iodine complex occurs easily, and hence it becomes colourless and appears pink in colour
on the application of carbol-fuchsin. Grams stains result in purple-coloured gram-negative
bacteria and pink-coloured gram-positive bacteria [4].
Zeihl-Neelsen Stain
Zeihl-Neelsen stain is a rapid technique and is used to shows acid-fast tubercular bacilli that
appears red. The principle behind this staining is that by heating, the organisms are stained with
basic fuchsin dye, and when they are treated with 1% acid alcohol, they resist decolourization.
The decolourized non-acid-fast bacilli will take up the counterstain, which is done by using
methylene blue [4].
Fungal Infection
Fungi are relatively large and have rich polysaccharides in their cell wall, which are converted
into dialdehydes due to oxidation and can be identified with Schiff's reagent or silver stains.
Grocott's methenamine silver technique is the common staining technique done to study fungal
organisms in which the walls of the fungi are stained by Grocott's methenamine silver stains
and also the outer wall of the Pneumocystis carinii organisms, which gives a black coloured
appearance to fungal organisms and pneumocystis in a green background [4].
Viral Inclusions
Viral particles can be viewed only by an electron microscope as they are too small [16]. With
the Phloxine-tartrazine method, virus inclusions can be determined as it gives a bright red
appearance of viral inclusion in a yellow background which facilitates rapid and accurate
diagnosis of viral infections [17].
Stains for Pigments and Minerals
Pigments can be broadly classified into endogenous, exogenous, and artifact pigments [18].
10
Pigments
Demonstration of hemosiderin and iron

Hemosiderin is insoluble in alkalis in unfixed tissue and is freely soluble in strong acid
solutions. With the traditional technique, iron variants that are found in the tissues cannot be
demonstrated because of the tight bond of iron within a protein complex. The iron component
can be demonstrated blue with Perl's Prussian blue reaction as an insoluble blue compound
[19].
Melanin
Melanin can be described as light brown to black pigments. Demonstration of Melanin can be
done by the Masson-Fontana technique that stains Melanin, argentaffin, chromaffin, and some
lipofuscins in black colour [20,21].
Minerals
Calcium
Calcium salts are a normal constituent of bones and teeth in the human body. Necrotic areas of
tissue allied with tuberculosis, infarction, atheroma in blood vessels, and malakoplakia of the
bladder may show abnormal calcifications. Several specials are available for the demonstration
of calcium deposits in which Von Kossa and Alizarin red S stains are commonly used in
laboratories. Calcium deposits are stained black when treated with Von Kossa (Fig.-3) and
orange-red with Alizarin red S stain respectively [6,22].
11
Figure 3: Von Kossa stained section shows calcium deposits in Black colour, under 10x
magnification.
Stains for Carbohydrates and Amyloid
Carbohydrates can be broadly categorized as simple carbohydrates and glycoconjugates.

Simple carbohydrates are further classified as monosaccharides, oligosaccharides, and
polysaccharides. PAS technique demonstrates glycogen, neutral or sialomucins with magenta
and with Alcian blue method mucins appears blue. Modified Southgate's Mucicarmine
technique stains acidic mucins in pink or red colour (Fig. 4) [23,24].
12
Figure 4: Section stained with mucicarmine stain shows positive areas of mucin in pink
color.
Amyloid
Amyloid arises as a result of longst and ing chronic inflammatory conditions. It is usually an
eosinophilic, extracellular, amorphous substance. With H and E stain, amyloids appear as a
pale pink homogenous material, and special stain like Van Gieson shows yellow or brown
colour. When the tissue is treated with Gram's iodine, amyloid appears as mahogany brown,
which turns into blue colour with treated with 10% sulphuric acid. The carbohydrate
component contains sialic acid and shows positive staining with both Alcian blue and PAS,
demonstrated by Gottschalk [25].
Congo Red
Congo red is the gold st and ard technique for amyloid detection. This stain was developed in
1884 as a direct cotton dye and have been modified several times to get an ideal method for
amyloid detection26. Under polarized light amyloid produces a green birefringence with
Congo red staining (Fig. 5) [27-29].
13
Figure 5: Amyloids stained with Congo Red showing green birefringence under polarizing
light, under 10x magnification.
Special Stains in Hematology and Cytology
Various stains are used in hematology and cytology for staining peripheral blood smears, bone
marrow smears made from aspirates and biopsies [30]. Exfoliative cytology is the primary
diagnostic technique for benign or malignant lesions [31]. Regularly H and E, Papanicolaou
stains, Romanowsky have been used for staining cytological smears [32]. For a better
assessment of nucleus and cytoplasmic ratio, cell size, various types of Romanowsky stains
such as Wright Giemsa stain, MGG, Leishman stain are used [33,34]. Leishman-Giemsa
cocktail stain provides an excellent nucleus and cytoplasmic staining than PAP stain, and hence
it facilitates better diagnosis [35].
Leishman Stain
Leishman stain is named after Scottish pathologist Sir William Boog Leishman and used as a
differential stain. Leishman stain gives a better contrast between nucleus and cytoplasm by
imparting violet colour to nucleus and neutrophil granules which is achieved by the two
components, Azure B and Eosin Y [36,37].
Wright Giemsa Stain
The Wright-Giemsa stain is a modification of Romanowsky stain that consist of a mixture of

methylene blue, azure A and azure B, and eosin and are commonly used to differentiate several
14
cellular components. Wright-Giemsa-stained blood smear may demonstrate erythrocytes with

salmon pink, leukocyte nuclei with purple to blue, and platelets with dark red-purple granule
cytoplasm [38].
Leukocyte Alkaline Phosphatase
The cytoplasm of neutrophils, osteoblasts, vascular endothelial cells, and some lymphocytes
shows alkaline phosphatase activity, and hence these can be easily determined by the leukocyte
alkaline phosphatase stain [39].
Periodic Acid-Schiff (PAS)
PAS stain can be used to demonstrate intracellular glycogen and neutral mucopolysaccharides
that are found variably in hematopoietic cells [40]. PAS staining is seen in blasts of both acute
lymphoblastic and acute myelogenous leukemias, there is intense positivity toward the
erythroleukemia with PAS stain [41,42].
Papanicolaou (Pap)
Pap stain was first introduced by Papanicolaou in the year 1943. Pap-stained smears are used
to detect malignant and premalignant changes [43]. Cell cytoplasm is stained with blue-green
and keratin with orange. The superficial squamous epithelial cells, nucleoli, and RBCs are
stained by Eosin Y, hence appear orange to pink, while intermediate and parabasal cells appear
turquoise green to blue [44-47].
Vital Staining
Vital stain is the stains that are applied directly to the living cells [48]. In recent times diagnostic
aids have been established with chair-side techniques using vital stain, which aids in early
detection of the lesion or condition, which are helpful prognostic indicators [49].
Toluidine Blue Stain
Toluidine Blue (TB), is an acidophilic metachromatic dye that particularly stains acidic
components of the tissue. TB has an affinity for nucleic acids, and hence it binds to tissues that
consist of nuclear material with increased DNA and RNA and are partially soluble in alcohol
and water [50,51]. Clinically, TB has been widely used as a vital stain in potentially malignant
oral lesions, and helps in the detection of the margins in early lesions. TB stained lesions can
also helpful in detecting the loss of heterozygosity and appears dark or pale royal blue [52].
15
Acetic Acid Staining
Acetic acid in the concentration of 3 to 5% was also being used for the detection of oral cancer
[53]. The positive section shows colour change to opaque white. The negative section remains
transparent white.
Rose Bengal Stain
Rose Bengal chiefly stains the cell membranes and is used to detect epithelial dysplasia and
oral squamous cell carcinoma. The positive section shows a pink appearance [54,55].
Artefacts in Special Stains
Residual wax artefacts
Residual wax that presents in a tissue section does not allow the aqueous and alcoholic dyes to
pass through the sections, leaving areas devoid of stain. This produces patches in sections
where nuclei appear muddy [56].
Contaminated stains
Contamination of the stains could produce superimposed deposits over the section, which may
mislead a wrong diagnosis. Inadequately filled container or staining dish or accumulation of
staining solution at the top of the slide may cause inadequate staining [57].
Formalin Pigment
Formalin pigments appear dark brown and are composed of tiny birefringent crystals. To
prevent this, tissue can be treated with a saturated alcoholic solution of picric acid before the
staining [58].
Picric Acid
Tissue fixed with picric acid containing fixatives imparts a yellow-coloured tissue because of
its acidic nature. This can be prevented by treating the tissue with 70% ethanol before
processing [59].
16
Hazards of Special Stains
Special stains contain few chemicals that are too hazardous to be used, and hence the use of
such chemicals needs to be eliminated or reduced as much as possible [3].
Effects of chemical and physical risks of dyes
Several stains and dyes used in histopathology laboratory are enormously harmful due to their
effects of toxicity, carcinogenicity, genotoxicity, immunotoxicity. Solution or reagents that
contain chloroform, chromic acid, dioxane, formaldehyde, nickel chloride, and potassium
dichromate are carcinogenic [57]. Organic solvents that are used in routine and special staining
methods are highly flammable and have flash points below 21°C. Silver solutions are
commonly used in Von Kossa stain and Masson Fontana stain, which may become explosive
upon ageing, and hence their storage after use should be strictly avoided [3].
Conclusion
Routine hematoxylin and eosin are universal stains used in all laboratories, which help
diagnosis. However, specific components, structures, or substances of the tissue can accept
only a particular specific type of stain based on their chemical and biological structure or
nature. Hence, this can be achieved with the help of special stains which stain specific type of
tissue components and play an essential role in facilitating a definite confirmatory diagnosis.
Even though there are available advanced molecular methods such as immunohistochemistry
for histopathological diagnoses, special stains play a significant role as a first-line method
before choosing higher-end diagnostic procedures.
Conflict of Interest
It is stated that there are no conflicts of interest between the proponents and participants in the
present work.
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Special Stains in Histopathology An Oral Pathology Perspective

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Journal of Dental Health and Oral Research

Open Access Review Article

Special Stains in Histopathology: An Oral Pathology Perspective

Received Date: 16-11-2021; Accepted Date: 12-12-2021; Published Date: 20-12-2021

Cytology; Hematology; Histochemistry; Histological Technique; Tissue Stains

Balamanikandan P | Volume 2; Issue 3 (2021) | JDHOR-2(3)-037 | Review Article

Evolution of Special Stains

Balamanikandan P | Volume 2; Issue 3 (2021) | JDHOR-2(3)-037 | Review Article

Classification of Special Stains

I. Classification of special stains by Juan Rosai and Ackerman [5].

Balamanikandan P | Volume 2; Issue 3 (2021) | JDHOR-2(3)-037 | Review Article

III. Classification of special stains by Wulff S, et al. according to the

Stains Used to Demonstrate Nucleic Acids

Balamanikandan P | Volume 2; Issue 3 (2021) | JDHOR-2(3)-037 | Review Article

Connective Tissue Stains

Van Gieson Method

Balamanikandan P | Volume 2; Issue 3 (2021) | JDHOR-2(3)-037 | Review Article

Trichrome is a common staining procedure used to demonstrate nuclei, cytoplasm and

Balamanikandan P | Volume 2; Issue 3 (2021) | JDHOR-2(3)-037 | Review Article

Lipid Staining Methods

Nervous Tissue Staining Methods

Stains Used In Interpretation

Mallory's Trichrome Nucleus, Collagen fibers Nucleus- Blue/black

Stains for Demonstration of Microorganisms

Stains Used In Interpretation

Balamanikandan P | Volume 2; Issue 3 (2021) | JDHOR-2(3)-037 | Review Article

Stains for Pigments and Minerals

Balamanikandan P | Volume 2; Issue 3 (2021) | JDHOR-2(3)-037 | Review Article

Demonstration of hemosiderin and iron

Balamanikandan P | Volume 2; Issue 3 (2021) | JDHOR-2(3)-037 | Review Article

Stains for Carbohydrates and Amyloid

Carbohydrates can be broadly categorized as simple carbohydrates and glycoconjugates.

Balamanikandan P | Volume 2; Issue 3 (2021) | JDHOR-2(3)-037 | Review Article

Balamanikandan P | Volume 2; Issue 3 (2021) | JDHOR-2(3)-037 | Review Article

Special Stains in Hematology and Cytology

Wright Giemsa Stain

The Wright-Giemsa stain is a modification of Romanowsky stain that consist of a mixture of

cellular components. Wright-Giemsa-stained blood smear may demonstrate erythrocytes with

Leukocyte Alkaline Phosphatase

Periodic Acid-Schiff (PAS)

Toluidine Blue Stain

Acetic Acid Staining

Rose Bengal Stain

Artefacts in Special Stains

Residual wax artefacts

Balamanikandan P | Volume 2; Issue 3 (2021) | JDHOR-2(3)-037 | Review Article

Hazards of Special Stains

Effects of chemical and physical risks of dyes

Balamanikandan P | Volume 2; Issue 3 (2021) | JDHOR-2(3)-037 | Review Article

Balamanikandan P | Volume 2; Issue 3 (2021) | JDHOR-2(3)-037 | Review Article

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