Giemsa tablets, such as Burroughs and Wellcome's (Lon- 

 don) Eosin-Azur Soloids, may be obtained from any dealer. 

 Clean a small mortar thoroughly with methylalcohol and 

 pound one tablet finely. Cover the powder thus obtained 

 with 3 c.c. of glycerine. Rub the mixture again until it is 

 entirely smooth. Then add 3 c.c. of methylalcohol, stir 

 with pestle and allow to settle. Pour the solution into brown 

 drop bottle with glass stopper. Rub sediment again, add 

 2 c.c. of methylalcohol, pour off once more. Rinse the pestle 

 and mortar with another 2 c.c. of methylalcohol and pour 

 this wash into the bottle as before. This should mean that 

 all of the eosin-azure is now in the brown bottle. The result 

 is 10 c.c. of Giemsa solution which must now be placed 

 in an incubator at 37° C. for 24 hours and then kept at 

 room temperature. This stain will not deteriorate for 

 months if it is protected from heat and light. It goes through 

 a ripening process and becomes most effective after stand- 

 ing for two to three weeks.* 



A. Thick drops 



When the film is quite dry from exposure to the air, it is 

 ready for staining. In order to remove the haemoglobin the 

 slide is flooded with a solution of 0.1% of magnesium sul- 

 phate in distilled water. After five to ten minutes the fluid 

 containing haemoglobin may be flushed off by pouring tap- 



*Dr. Aimee Wilcox, in the National Institute of Health Bulletin, 

 No. 180, page 21, 1943, writes that "The most dependable stain, particu- 

 larly for thick films, is obtained with a good quality of Giemsa stain 

 solution diluted with distilled water of a pH from 7.0 to 7.2. Grubler's 

 dyes have long given complete satisfaction in this work. When Giemsa 

 stains made from American dyes are used, they should be those stains 

 which are certified by the Commission for the Standardization of Bio- 

 logical Stains. Recently certified samples of American Giemsa will be 

 more likely to conform to the needs of the malariologist, as the staining 

 of malaria parasites is now one of the tests used by the Commission prior 

 to certification of Giemsa stains. If the Giemsa stain solution is made 

 from powders, the best reagent methyl alcohol (neutral, acetone free) 

 and glycerine C.P. (neutral) should be used. The glassware used should 

 be chemically clean and dry. For thin films some Wright's and Irish- 

 man's stains made from standard formulae will also give satisfactory 

 results." 



