VITAL STAINING OF THE CONNECTIVE TISSUES
1Department of Animal and Plant Pathology of The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, Princeton, New Jersey.
Abstract:
Trypan blue injected intravenously is bound almost at once by the intercellular connective tissue elements all over the body,-by collagen, reticulin, and elastic fibers. This union of dye and tissue elements is the factor responsible for the early macroscopic blue color and is antecedent to cellular colloidopexic action. Different examples of connective tissue differ among themselves in their ability to hold the dye. Diffuse staining of elastic fibers noted by previous observers is merely a special case of the general affinity of connective tissue for the dye. The evidence suggests that the histiocytes are cells specialized to segregate noxae that become diffusely bound to the intercellular connective tissue matrix.
Related Concept Videos
01:03Fixation and Sectioning
The simplest type of preparation is the wet mount, in which the specimen is placed in a drop of liquid on the slide. A liquid specimen can be directly deposited on the slide using a dropper. Solid specimens, such as skin scraping, can be placed on the slide before adding a drop of liquid to prepare the wet mount. Sometimes the liquid is simply water, but stains are often added...
01:13Special Staining Techniques
01:17Connective Tissue Fibers and Ground Substance
01:26Differential Staining Technique
01:30Classification of Connective Tissues
Connective Tissue Proper
Connective tissue proper is the most abundant class of connective tissues. As its name implies, it predominantly connects different tissues in the body. Depending on the cell types, ground substance, viscosity, and fiber types in the ECM, connective tissue proper is further categorized into loose and dense.
01:24Simple Staining Technique