Section B Flashcards
(25 cards)
How do you visually identify H&E (Haematoxylin & Eosin) stain?
Nuclei are blue-purple, cytoplasm is pink. General tissue structure is clear and well-contrasted. Used for all tissues-liver, colon, stomach, lung-routine overview.
What does PAS (Periodic Acid-Schiff) stain look like and what does it highlight?
Bright magenta (pink-purple) staining in areas with glycogen, mucins, or basement membranes.
How do you recognize Masson’s Trichrome stain?
Collagen stains blue or green, muscle stains red, cytoplasm is pink. Look for blue/green connective tissue separating red muscle fibers.
What does Reticulin (Silver) stain show and how does it appear?
Fine black lines or meshwork outlining cell groups-reticulin fibers stand out as black against a pale background.
How do you identify Toluidine Blue stain?
Most tissue appears blue, but mast cell granules or cartilage matrix show a distinct purple (metachromatic) color.
How do you recognize Alcian Blue stain?
Mucin or acidic substances are bright blue, nuclei are red.
How do you spot Millers Elastic Van Gieson (EVG) stain?
Elastic fibers are black or purple, collagen is red, muscle is yellow.
What is the key visual clue for Congo Red stain?
Amyloid deposits appear red-orange in normal light; under polarized light, they show apple-green birefringence.
How do you recognize Alizarin Red S stain?
Calcium deposits are stained bright red-look for red spots or areas in bone or calcified tissue.
What does Luxol Fast Blue stain look like?
Myelin sheaths in nervous tissue are deep blue-white matter appears blue, gray matter is paler.
How do you identify liver tissue histologically?
Look for polygonal lobules with a central vein, portal triads at the corners, and rows of hepatocytes.
What does PAS highlight in the colon?
Goblet cells stand out as bright magenta (hot pink) bubbles lining the mucosa.
What does Masson’s Trichrome reveal in the stomach?
Blue or green collagen in the submucosa, red muscle layers.
How do you spot elastic fibers in the lung with EVG stain?
Thin, wavy black or purple lines weaving through the alveolar walls.
How do you recognize a tissue fold under the microscope?
Overlapping or doubled-up tissue layers-looks like a wrinkle or crease.
What does overstaining look like, and how can you tell?
Tissue appears very dark, with loss of detail-background and nuclei may be hard to distinguish.
How do air bubbles appear on a slide?
Perfectly round, clear circles interrupting the tissue section.
How do you know if a section is poorly oriented?
Key structures (e.g., mucosa, muscle layers) are not in their expected positions.
What does understaining look like?
Tissue appears too pale-nuclei and cytoplasm are faint.
What is a precipitate artifact and how do you spot it?
Dark, irregular clumps or granules not following tissue structure.
What is a positive control in histochemistry?
A tissue known to express the target feature.
What is a negative control in histochemistry?
A tissue known not to express the target feature.
What is a tissue fold and how do you fix it?
Wrinkle in section-fix by flattening in water bath before mounting.
What does overstaining look like and how to fix?
Tissue too dark, details lost-reduce staining time or dilute stain.
