Histology Stains
Histology stains are usually selected according to the type of biological tissue to be observed. There are many different histology stains. Some are more widely used than others. Some histology stains are only used to study very specific types of biological tissue.
Examples of some histology stains and some categories of histology stains are listed in alphabetical order below with brief notes about each. This shows the wide range of histology stains in use in histology laboratories.
Note that this is not a complete list of histology stains and that some of these stains are also known by other names, such as their chemical names. Some of these histology stains are even known and referred to by more than one "common name" and so may appear below more than once.
- can be used to stain pancreatic islet beta cell granules |
- a Mucin stain (a category of histology stains, listed below)
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can stain mucins and mucosubstances blue (due to the copper in the stain) |
- can be used to identify calcium in tissue sections
- used on the Dupont ACA analyzer to measure serum calcium photometrically |
- can be used to stain endothelial cells |
- can be used to differentiate osteoid from mineralised bone |
- can be used to show reticular fibres
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used for showing neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques
- uses the chemical element silver (Ag) |
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- commonly used for general histology staining when paired with haematoxylin - see Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) |
- uses the chemical element silver (Ag)
- stains argentaffin granules and melanin black - while also staining nuclei pink/red and cytoplasm light pink
- a specific example of a Melanin Stain (general category of histology stains) |
- a Romanowski (also written 'Romanowsky') type stain
- used for peripheral blood smears, i.e. a thin layer of blood smeared on a microscope slide and used for bone marrow.
- used to study parasites and malaria |
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- trichrome histology stains are formed from a mixture of three dyes
- Gomori's trichrome stains connective tissue and collagen (green or blue), muscle, keratin and cytoplasm (red) and nuclei (grey/blue/black) |
15. Heidenhain's AZAN trichrome stain - trichrome histology stains are formed from a mixture of three dyes
- can be used to distinguish cells from extracellular components
- stains connective tissues, e.g. muscle fibres, cartilage and bone matrices.
- a similar stain to Mallory Trichome (listed below). These histology stains differ because Heidenhain introduced azocarmine G in place of the acid fuchsine of Mallory's stain. He also added controlled destaining resulting in different colours of cell nuclei (dark red), collagen (blue) and a various of colours in cytoplasm. |
- commonly used for general histology staining when paired with eosin - see Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) |
17. Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) - standard histology stain and the most frequently used combination of stains used in the histology lab for general purpose staining - often used for routine tissue preparation
- Hematoxylin binds to acidic structures, staining them blue-purple. Hence it binds and stains nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), so stains the nuclei of cells blue.
- Eosin binds to and stains basic structures pink, e.g. cytoplasm, muscle, connective tissue, colloid and red blood cells are stained pink-red. |
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- can be used to demonstrate elastin and mast cells |
- the alcohol soluble equivalent of Alician Blue (see above)
- used to observe myelin (myelin stains blue to blue/green, neurons to violet, red blood cells to blue) |
- trichrome histology stains are formed from a mixture of three dyes
- used on connective tissue to indicate collagen and reticular fibers.
- uses acid fuchsine followed by a solution containing PTA, orange G and aniline blue.
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- trichrome histology stains are formed from a mixture of three dyes
- can be used to distinguish between cellular items & extracellular items
- can be used on connective tissue. |
- a category of histology stains used to stain melanin (which is located in the skin, eyes, and melanomas)
- can be used to study melanin pigment in cells of malignant melanoma
- Fontana-Masson (listed above) is a specific example of a melanin stain. |
24. Movat's Pentachrome Stain - can be used to study connective tissue. |
- a specific Mucin Stain
- can be used to observe epithelial mucins |
- a category of histology stains generally used to indicate one or more types of mucopolysaccharide substances in tissues. |
- can help identify cytoplasmic granules characteristic of myeloid cells (i.e. leukocytes that are not lymphocytes).
- can be used to screen peripheral blood samples for indications of myelogenous leukemia, a cancer of the white bllod cells. |
- are basic dyes
- can be used to stain RNA and DNA
- can be used to see Nissl bodies (which are also known as "Nissl granules" and as "tigroid bodies") in neurons. |
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- a fat satain
- can identify neutral lipids and fatty acids in smears and tissues
- fresh smears or cryostat sections of tissue are necessary because fixatives containing alcohols, or routine tissue processing with clearing, will remove lipids
- a simple and rapid stain.
- can be used to identify fat emboli in lung tissue or clot sections of peripheral blood
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can be used to stain lipids red (nuclei stain blue / black). |
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- can be used to stain lipids |
- a staining technique that involves five dyes in three solutions.
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mainly used on exfoliated cytological specimens
- examples of use incl. gynecological smears (Pap smears), sputum, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, abdominal fluid, pleural fluid, synovial fluid, semminal fluid |
34. Periodic Acid-Schiff (PAS) - a Mucin stain (listed above)
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used for staining glycogen and other carbohydrates
- used to show glomeruli, basement membranes, and glycogen in the liver |
- can be used to reveal the presence of iron in biological tissues. |
36. Phosphotungstic Acid-Hematoxylin (PTAH) - can be used to stain striated muscle fibres and mitochondria, also to reveal some specific disease processes in the central nervous system (CNS)
- sometimes used to check for tumours in skeletal muscle |
37. PicroSirius Red (polarized) - can be used to identify collagen fibres when used with polarised light |
- can be used to stain iron (both ferric iron and ferritin). |
39. Reticular Fiber Stain - sometimes called 'Weigert's Stain' (also listed below)
- uses silver salt
- stains reticular fibres black, usually stains collagenous fibres purple |
- can be used for blood and bone marrow tissue samples |
- can be used to stain mucin, cartilage and mast cells |
- can be used to show canaliculi and lamellae in bone sections
- not a classical 'stain' but made-up of two colouring agents that work together
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- used to show melanin and reticular fibres (argyrphilic tissue has an affinity for silver salts; argyrophilic cells bind silver salts, hence silver salts will be seen in argyrphilic tissues) |
- a group of stains, incl. Sudan Black, Sudan IV, and oil red O (also listed here, above)
- generally used for staining lipids and phospholipids |
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- can be used to stain mast cells |
- sometimes used in conjunction with iron hematoxylin.
- can be used to differentiate between collagen and smooth muscle. |
- sometimes called 'Verhoeff's Hematoxylin'
- used to study connective tissue, esp. elastic fibres
- can be used to look at lung tissue and arteries |
- used to indicate calcium and calcium deposits |
50. Weigert's Elastic Stain |
- based on a blend of dyes, such as methylene blue derivatives and acid dyes e.g. eosin
- used for blood smears and bone marrow smears |
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Notes:
- These histology stains, and in some cases types of stains, are listed in alphabetical order. The numbers shown on the left are only for ease of finding and referring to the items listed e.g. when sharing or discussing the information on this page. The numbers themselves do not have any significance.
- If you or your organisation is able to provide histology images (especially of specified tissues of the human body) for use on this website we would be delighted to hear from you. Any such images made available for publication here would, of course, be fully acknowledged.
- Warning: This general information is in very short note form only. While effort has been made to check its accuracy at the time of preparing this page, readers should not use this data in any diagnostic or research environment without first satisfying themselves that it is correct and appropriate for the use intended.
This is just a list of short notes about some well-known histology stains. There are many other histology stains and also much more to know about these histology stains. Examples of more than 50 histology stains are included here to give students of first-level courses in human anatomy & physiology and human biology a general idea of the range of histology stains in common use.
See also What is Histology ?, How to Prepare Histology Slides, Structure of a Cell, and the Diagram of Mitosis.
More pages about Histology
