PathNugget

Salmon Salmon pink appearance of amyloids

Oooh! My inconsistency is rearing its ugly head again, I know. But there’s
been an awful lot of activity in my life lately. No excuse is ever enough
recompense, so a final pardon is all I seek, and hopefully I turn over a new
leaf. This is my personal promise, with love, bear hugs, and maple
flavoured kisses…Kay Bemps! On to some pathology, then?
As you study pathology, you’ll come across several maddeningly
frightening and hilarious eponyms. I mean, whoever decides to call a
group of genes Sonic Hedgehog; how did we have Broken Heart
Syndrome, Crocodile Tears Syndrome and Alice in Wonderland Syndrome;
and why beri-beri, moya-moya and hailey-hailey diseases? Why not just
one beri, moya and hailey? I guess these are the parts of pathology you
learn to accept without questioning!
Today’s PathNugget isn’t new. We’ve talked, in a previous session (please
find), about the dastard amyloid proteins and how they’re detected. Before
the last step of the process, the suspected amyloid-laden tissue is stained
with the infamous Congo red stain (again, why). This imparts a salmon
pink colouration (what?) to the tissue under the microscope. This is
however not diagnostic, hence the final apple green colour (*laughs*)
which must be seen with polarizing microscopy!

PS: Hungry for more? Consult your pathologist! -Kay Bemps