A NEW HAEMATOXYLIN STAIN FOR THE DEMONSTRATION OF NUCLEAR AND EXTRA NUCLEAR SUBSTANCES

Abstract

Haematoxylin is the most important and most used dye in histology, histochemistry, histopathology and in cytology. Several haematoxylin staining techniques exist, based on their mode of preparation and their action on tissues. The improved method of preparation of alum haematoxylin stain described here was to add to the compendium of existing methods. 1g haematoxylin, 50g ammonium alum, 1g citric acid, 0.15g sodium iodate and 50ml glycerine were boiled in 1000ml distilled water. The resulting mixture was used to stain sections of kidney, liver, intestine, lung, intestine and the heart, and counter stained with aqueous eosin according to the standard technique. The result was compared with standard haematoxylin and eosin techniques using Ehrlich's, Mayer's, Cole's, Harris, Delafield's and Carazzi's haematoxylin as the nuclear stain. No difference was noticed microscopically between the improved haematoxylin and the existing techniques. The major advantages of the improved technique are in its usage. It has the ability to stain progressively and regressively depending on the staining time. There is also absence of scum on the surface of the stain when it was left unused for several weeks. Therefore, filtration for the removal of scum which is necessary in certain haematoxylin preparations is not necessary in the improved technique.