STAINING, PRACTICAL AND THEORETICAL 



GIEMSA STAIN 

 For malarial parasites, rickettsia, etc., in sections 



Solution required: 



Giemsa stain . . . . . . i ml. 



Distilled water, buffered to pH 7 • 2 20 ml. 



N.B.: This mixture should be freshly prepared 

 immediately before use. 



Technique: 



1 . Fix small pieces of tissue in 10% formahn, Regaud or Zenker. 



2. Dehydrate; clear and embed. 



3. Bring down paraffin sections to distilled water in the usual 

 manner. 



4. Stain for eighteen to twenty-four hours in the diluted Giemsa 

 (as above). 



5. Wash in distilled water; differentiate quickly in 0-5% acetic 

 acid until the section is pink ; then wash with distilled water. 



6. Blot and dry in air and mount. 



Results: 



Nuclei are stained dark red ; erythrocytes, pink. Malaria para- 

 sites, bluish red with red chromatin. 



Reference: Giemsa, G. (1904). 



GIEMSA - WRIGHT STAIN 



A permanent stain for differentiating the structures, 

 particularly Nissl bodies and cytons, of the spinal cord 



Solution required: 



Wright's stain 5 volumes 



Giemsa stain i volume 



Technique: 



1. Material should be fixed in neutral formalin 10%. 



2. Wash, dehydrate, clear, and embed in paraffin wax in the 

 usual manner. 



216 



