supravital stain

stain (stān)

1. a substance used to impart color to tissues or cells, to facilitate microscopic study and identification.

2. an area of discoloration of the skin.

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differential stain  one which facilitates differentiation of various elements in a specimen.

Giemsa stain  a solution containing azure II-eosin, azure II, glycerin, and methanol; used for staining protozoan parasites, such as Plasmodium and Trypanosoma, for Chlamydia, for differential staining of blood smears, and for viral inclusion bodies.

Gram stain  a staining procedure in which microorganisms are stained with crystal violet, treated with strong iodine solution, decolorized with ethanol or ethanol-acetone, and counterstained with a contrasting dye; those retaining the stain are gram-positive, and those losing the stain but staining with the counterstain are gram-negative.

hematoxylin-eosin stain  a mixture of hematoxylin in distilled water and aqueous eosin solution, employed universally for routine tissue examination.

metachromatic stain  one which produces in certain elements colors different from that of the stain itself.

port-wine stain  see nevus flammeus.

supravital stain  a stain introduced in living tissue that has been removed from the body, but before cessation of the chemical life of the cells.

tumor stain  an area of increased density in a radiograph, due to collection of contrast material in distorted and abnormal vessels, prominent in the capillary and venous phase of arteriography, and presumed to indicate neoplasm.

vital stain  a stain introduced into the living organism, and taken up selectively by various tissues or cellular elements.

Wright's stain  a mixture of eosin and methylene blue, used for demonstrating blood cells and malarial parasites.

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supravital stain

n.

A procedure in which living tissue is removed from the body and cells are placed in a nontoxic dye solution so that their vital processes may be studied.

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stain

1. a substance used to impart color to tissues or cells, to facilitate microscopic study and identification.

2. an area of discoloration of the skin.

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acid stain

a stain in which the coloring agent is in the acid radical.

basic stain

a stain in which the coloring agent is in the basic radical.

carbol fuschin stain

used to stain some gram-negative bacteria, including Campylobacter fetus.

Castaneda's stain

a technique for demonstrating chlamydial elementary bodies, using formol blue and safranine.

Diene's stain

one containing methylene blue, maltose and azure II, used for staining mycoplasmal microcolonies.

differential stain

one which facilitates differentiation of various elements in a specimen.

hematoxylin and eosin stain

a staining method employed universally for routine histological examination of tissue sections.

India ink stain

used to demonstrate capsules on Cryptococcus neoformans and some bacterial species.

lambing stain

staining of the breech and back of the udder of a ewe caused by the passage of the fetal fluids and then the lochia. Used as a guide to whether or not the ewe has lambed and perhaps lost her lamb.

Macchiavello stain

a basic fuscin solution for staining chlamydial elementary bodies.

metachromatic stain

one that produces in certain elements color different from that of the stain itself.

methanamine silver stain

stains fungal elements in tissue a dark brown.

new methylene blue stain

a metachromatic dye used for staining blood, vaginal smears, and tissue samples for cytological examination. Particularly useful in demonstrating reticulocytes.

Newman's stain

used on smears of milk for demonstrating organisms in mastitis.

nigrosin stain

an aniline dye used in wet mounts to demonstrate capsules, especially with cryptococcusneoformans.

nuclear stain

one that selectively stains cell nuclei, generally a basic stain.

ophthalmic stain

used in the diagnosis of diseases of the eye, e.g. fluorescein and rose bengal dyes.

supravital stain

a stain introduced in living tissue or cells that have been removed from the body.

tumor stain

an area of increased density in a radiograph, due to collection of contrast material in distorted and abnormal vessels, prominent in the capillary and venous phases of arteriography, and presumed to indicate neoplasm.

vital stain

a stain introduced into the living organism, and taken up selectively by various tissue or cellular elements. Often used to determine the live/dead cell ratio in a cell population.

Wright's stain

a mixture of eosin and methylene blue, used for demonstrating blood cells.

Ziehl-Neelsen stain

one of carbol fuchsin counterstained with methylene blue; used to demonstrate acid-fast organisms, especially Mycobacterium spp., in smears and tissues. A modified method using mild acid to decolorize is used for staining Brucella spp. and Nocardia asteroides. See also acid-fast.