354 CONNECTIVE TISSUES. 



some weeks. Stain tor five or ten minutes, put into alcohol with 1 per 

 cent, of nitric acid for one minute, then pure alcohol. 



See also DE WITT, Anat. Rec., i, 1897, p. 74 ; DUERCK, Arch. Path. 

 Anat., clxxxix, 1907, p. 62 ; VERHOEFF, Journ. Amer. Med. Assoc., 1908, 

 No. 11. 



MALLORY'S phosphotungstic haematoxylin is good, but not specific. 



For a hsematoxylin and eosin stain for connective tissues see KRUGER 

 (Zeit. f. w. Mikr., xxxi, or Journ. R. Micr. Soc., 1914). 



760. Other Methods for Elastic Tissue. For the elastic tissue of the 

 skin see PASSARGE and KROSING, Derm. Stud., xviii, 1894. 



See also for staining and dissociation AGABABOW, Arch. mik. Anat., 1, 

 1897, p. 566 et seq. 



For C. MARTINOTTI'S silver impregnation see Zeit. wiss. Mik., v, 1888, 

 p. 521, or Arch. Ital. Biol, xi, 1889, p. 257. 



SCHUMACHER (Arch. m.ik. Anat., Iv, 1899, p. 151) has had good results 

 (for the spleen) with picro-nigrosin, 681. 



See also 733. 



761. DREW-MURRAY van Gieson-Nile Blue Method for Connective 

 Tissues (and Bacteria). Fix in formol-salt solution. Prepare 

 paraffin (or frozen) sections. Stain one to three minutes in van 

 Gieson's picric acid-acid fuchsin solution. Wash in aq. dest. ; 

 treat in 2 per cent. Nile blue sulphate solution in aq. dest. for from 

 two to twenty-four hours. Wash in changes of aq. dest. till the 

 latter is tinted pale blue. Stain again in van Gieson one to five 

 minutes. Wash in aq. dest. till wash-water is pale yellow. Dehy- 

 drate rapidly with absolute alcohol from drop bottle. Clear quickly 

 in xylol (not more than a minute). Differentiate in clove oil from 

 five minutes to several hours (the longer period is for frozen sections). 

 Wash in xylol Canada balsam. 



In successful preparations nuclear chromatin a saturated trans- 

 parent blue, mast cell granules nearly black, collagen red, keratin 

 and e^throcytes orange yellow (if bacteria are present they stain 

 blue). (Report of Imper. Cancer Research Fund, 1919.) 



Plasma Cells. 



762. Plasma Cells and " Mastzellen " ; Generalities. Plasma 

 cells, of which " Mastzellen " are a sub-species, are cells found in or 

 along with connective tissue, and distinguished by their hyper- 

 trophied and very granular cytoplasm and poorly staining nucleus. 

 The granules are highly basophilous, much more so than the nuclei ; 

 they stain with special energy with basic anilins, and mostly meta- 

 chromatically. They do not, however, stain with pure methyl 

 green. The nuclei either do not stain at all or not in the normal 

 way, except with pure methyl green. 



