Histo-lly

Histotechnician posting all things Histology

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In dermatopathology, the Tzanck test or smear, is scraping of an ulcer base to look for Tzanck cells. It is also called the chicken pox test and the herpes skin test. The multinucleated cells will yield a dark blue to lavender color. Named after Arnault Tzanck, a french dermatologist.

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The Crystal Violet stain is used as the primary stain in the Gram stain to detect bacteria. When positive, it will turn a vibrant blue/purple color. It has anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anthelmintic properties and was once used as a topical antiseptic. The dye was first synthesized in 1883 by Alfred Kern.

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This is a Fontana-Masson’s silver stain done on a piece of skin tissue. The black represents the argentaffin granules which in this case is melanin. Melanin can be found in other parts of the body such as our hair, retina, iris, and certain parts of the central nervous system. Argentaffin granules are also found in carcinoid tumors.

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How to make a slide!

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The Von Kossa stain is used for demonstrating calcium, however, it is the calcium salts that are stained black while the cytoplasm yields pink. It's diagnostic purpose is to identify Hypercalcinosis deposits that can form in the kidney's and other areas of the body. *Thank you all for helping me get to 500 followers! Let's continue to spread the love of histology and other fields of science for all of those yearning to learn more!

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This a Mucicarmine used for detecting acidulated and carboxylated mucins that are secreted from epithelial and connective cells. The concentrated areas of red in the picture are acid mucins and the yellow is just from the counterstain. Excess secretions could indicate metastasis of mucin producing carcinomas. This stain is also useful in demonstrating the capsule of Cryptococcus neoformans and other fungi.

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The Brown & Brenn (B&B) stain aka the Gram stain is used to differentiate bacteria that are Gram Positive from those that are Gram Negative. This is determined by their retention of the crystal violet stain. Due to it’s thick peptidoglycan layer in the cell wall, Gram Positive bacteria can retain the crystal violet stain giving it a dark purple/blue color. Gram Positive bacteria can cause severe, even fatal infections to infants. 

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This specimen is stained with what’s called, the Fite Acid-Fast stain. This uses the same concept as the Kinyoun’s and Ziehl Nielson’s stains (from earlier posts), staining acid-fast bacteria a red-violet color. However, the particular organism that is represented in this stain is Mycobacterium leprae which is the causative agent for Leprosy. Leprosy is a contagious disease that affects both the integumentary and nervous system causing discoloration and sores on skin as well as nerve damage. 

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The Colloidal Iron stain (performed on small intestine) is used to demonstrate carboxylated & sulfated mucopolysaccharides as well as glycoproteins. The acid mucopolysaccharides will stain a deep blue while the cytoplasm and nuclei will stain pink. Can be used diagnostically for people who have become infected with Cryptococcus neoformans, which is a microscopic fungus that can be contracted through inhalation. Healthy people will most likely not experience symptoms however, people who are immunocompromised such as those diagnosed with HIV/AIDS can experience sickness.

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Warthin-Starry is a microorganism stain that is used to visualize spirochetes by staining them black/brown. Can be used to find diseases such as: Cat Scratch Fever, Weil's disease, Lyme disease, syphilis, Treponema pallidum, Helicobacter pylori and much, much more!

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Skin from a practice block stained with a classic H&E stain. Cheers to getting hired on at a Derm Lab! Hopefully you all take care of your skin and put on plenty of sunscreen so I won't be handling any of your tissues.

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This is a Fontana-Masson’s silver stain done on a piece of skin tissue. The black represents the argentaffin granules which in this case is melanin. Melanin can be found in other parts of the body such as our hair, retina, iris, and certain parts of the central nervous system. 

Note: Should be a darker, more pronounced black color, but, unfortunately reagents used at the school are old.

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The Congo Red stain is used for the detection of amyloid, an abnormal protein. Under a light microscope, amyloid will stain a reddish-pink color but, under a polarizing microscope will emit an apple green birefringence. Amyloid can be deposited in any organ or tissue and can build up enough to cause a rare disorder called, Amyloidosis.

Thank you everyone for helping me get up to 100 followers! I’m glad there are people out there that have an interest in Histology and I hope you all have been able to learn some things about it by coming here.

[histo-lly]

This a Mucicarmine used for detecting acidulated and carboxylated mucins that are secreted from epithelial and connective cells. The concentrated areas of red in the picture (I know it’s not very pronounced) are the acid mucins and the yellow is just from the counterstain. Excess secretions could indicate metastasis of mucin producing carcinomas. This stain is also useful in demonstrating the capsule of Cryptococcus neoformans and other fungi.

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Gomori Reticulin stain done on a liver in low, medium and high power. Reticular fibers are stained black. Used for differential diagnosis of certain types of tumors.

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Grocott-Gomori's methenamine silver technique (GMS) is normally done on a lung and is used for diagnosing the causative agent for Pneumocystis Pneumonia (PCP). Pneumocystis jiroveci is a yeast-like fungus that will stain black due to the carbohydrates in it's cell walls.

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H&E stain on a stomach in medium and high power. Hematoxylin stains the nuclei purple and the eosin stains the cytoplasm (collagen, muscle, RBC’s, etc.) various shades of pink. This is the most routine stain done in histology.