Giemsa stain applied to deplasticized sections to identify pancreatic islet cells

A new application of the Giemsa stain to demonstrate endocrine cells in deplasticized sections of Epon embedded material is described. Its application to the pancreas of Rana temporaria is illustrated. The technique does not require postfixation with OsO4 and is easily performed in 30 min. It allows the easy identification of three types of endocrine cells (A, B, and D). A cells, preferentially located at the islet periphery, stain purple-blue. B cells, which occupy the interior of the islet, display a lilac color. D cells give a strong purple color; they are located both in the periphery of the islets and scattered among acinar cells. Positive identification of the cell types was made by immunocytochemistry and electron microscopy.