CHAPTER XXX. 391 



pared by melting ] grin, of naphthol on the surface of 100 c.c. of aq. 

 dest., and adding potassium hydrate till the naphthol dissolves. After 

 a few minutes in this solution (cooled) the smears are transferred to a 

 1 per cent, solution of the dimethyl for the same time, when a blue 

 colour is seen to appear where the oxydases lie. Mount in glycerine 

 jelly, but blue colour fades. Myelocytes and not lymphocytes are said 

 to give a positive reaction. 



It is doubtful how far these various colour indicators for oxygen place 

 in cells and tissues are reliable. It has been claimed that by means of 

 the last-mentioned method, it is possible to show that the staining 

 (oxygen place) appears especially around the nucleus of the cell. This 

 has not been confirmed. 



Glands. 



792. Mucin. HOYER (Arch. mik. Anat., xxxvi, 1890, p. 310) finds 

 that the mucin of mucus cells and goblet cells stains with basic tar 

 colours and with alum hsematoxylin, but not with acid tar colours. 

 He obtained his best results by means of thionin, and good ones 

 with toluidin blue, both of these giving a metachromatic stain- 

 tissues blue, mucin reddish and also with methylen blue (which is 

 particularly useful from its power of bringing out the merest traces 

 of mucin), safranin, etc. 



Tissues should be fixed for two to eight hours in 5 per cent, 

 sublimate solution, and paraffin sections stained for five to fifteen 

 minutes in a very dilute aqueous solution of the dye (2 drops of 

 saturated solution to 5 c.c. of water). 



Hyaline cartilage, the jelly of Wharton, and the Mastzellen of 

 Ehrlich give the same reactions with basic dyes as mucin does. 



See also SUSSDORF, Deutsche. Zeit. Thiermed., xiv, pp. 345, 349 

 (Zeit. wiss. Mik., vi, 1889, p. 205) ; BIZZOZERO, Atti. R. Accad. di 

 Sci. di Torino, 1889 to 1892 (reports in Zeit. wiss. Mik., vii, 

 1890, p. 61 : and ix, 1892, p. 219) ; also UNNA, ibid., xiii, 1896, 

 p. 42. 



The safranin reaction is not obtained with all brands of the dye ; 

 that of Bindschedler and Busch, in Bale, gives it, whilst safranin 

 of Griibler does not. UNNA employs chiefly polychrome metnvjen 

 blue. 



As regards the thionin stain, see HARI, Arch. Mik. Anat., Iviii, 

 1901, p. 678. 



BRUNO (Bull. Soc. Nat. Napoli, 1905, p. 220) fixes and stains the 

 skin of the frog in a mixture of 100 c.c. of formol of 1-25 per cent. 

 with 8 c.c. of 1 per cent, solution of thionin. Mucus glands red. 



KULTSCHIZKY (Arch. mik. Anat., xlix, 1897, p. 8) fixes in his 

 mixture ( 57), and stains sections either in safranin with 2 per 



