MEDICAL AND BIOLOGICAL STAINING TECHNIQUES 



10. Rinse quickly with absolute alcohol. 



1 1 . Clear in xylol and mount. 



Results: 



Elastic fibres, red. Collagen, blue. Muscle fibres, pale orange 

 to dirty yellow. Cytoplasm, varying shades of yellow. Erythro- 

 cytes, golden yellow. Kerantinized material, bright yellow. 1 



Reference: Margolena, L. A. and Dolnick, E. H., Stain Tech., (195 1), 26, 

 1 19-21. 



ORCEIN - ANILINE SAFRANIN 

 For elastic and connective tissue fibres 



Solutions required: 



A. Orcein (Unna) | to 1% in 80% 



alcohol . . . . . . . . 100 ml. 



Hydrochloric acid, cone. . . i ml. 



B. Safranin O, water soluble . . i gm. 

 Aniline water . . . . . . 48 ml. 



Absolute alcohol . . . . 52 ml. 



Technique: 



1. Sections are mounted on slides and brought down to 90% 

 alcohol in the usual manner. (If the tissues have been fixed in a 

 fluid containing mercury, the mercurial deposit is removed by the 

 standard technique ; the sections are then taken from 70% to 90% 

 alcohol, then direct into the orcein stain.) 



2. Stain from twenty to sixty minutes with the orcein solution 

 in a stoppered staining jar. 



3. Rinse in acid alcohol until stain ceases to come out of the 

 preparation. 



4. Rinse in 70% alcohol; then in distilled water. 



5. Stain in aniline safranin (Solution B) for five minutes; then 

 rinse in water. 



176 



