STAINING, PRACTICAL AND THEORETICAL 



the earlier studies of MacConaill (1949, 195 1) on the erythrophile 

 substances, found in the nervous system, including the so-called 

 neurokeratin. 



(/) Reference should be made to pages 76-90 of this book as 

 well as to the authors' original papers for information on the 

 mechanism of the Falg reaction and other theoretical aspects 

 which may be of interest. 



2. TRIFALGIC ACID METHOD (one-stage Falg method) 



Solutions required: 



Trifalgic acid (Michrome No. 818) i gm. 



Water . . . . . . . . . . 100 ml. 



Technique : 



1. Stain sections or smears in the trifalgic acid solution for 

 five minutes. 



2. Wash in running water for five minutes. 



3. Dehydrate through the usual graded alcohols. 



4. Clear in xylol. 



5. Mount in D.P.X. or Exemel or Canada balsam in xylol. 



Results: 



As with the Falg (two-stage) method, given above, but the 

 colours are fainter. 



Notes: 



(a) The trifalgic acid method cannot be regarded as a satis- 

 factory substitute for the Falg (two-stage) method in histology. 



{b) Trifalgic acid was originally isolated in the solid state to 

 confirm a hypothesis, but has since been found of value in protein- 

 electrophoresis (Bodman, i960). 



(c) Readers should refer to pages 76-90 for information 

 regarding the mechanism of the staining reactions. 



200 



