Staining Methods Flashcards
7 cards from real Histology Certification practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Staining Methods flashcards as text
Which staining technique is used to demonstrate Helicobacter pylori in gastric biopsy sections?
Answer: Giemsa or Warthin-Starry stain
Giemsa and Warthin-Starry silver stain are both commonly used to highlight H. pylori organisms in gastric mucosa.
What is the mechanism by which eosin stains cytoplasmic components in H&E?
Answer: Ionic attraction between the anionic dye and cationic cytoplasmic proteins
Eosin is an anionic (acidic) dye that binds electrostatically to positively charged (basic) cytoplasmic proteins and other cationic tissue components.
Mucicarmine stain specifically highlights which organism in tissue sections?
Answer: Cryptococcus neoformans
Mucicarmine stains the thick polysaccharide capsule of Cryptococcus neoformans bright rose-red, making it a useful diagnostic stain.
The Bielschowsky silver stain is primarily used in which pathological condition?
Answer: Neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in Alzheimer's disease
Bielschowsky is an argentaffin silver stain used in neuropathology to demonstrate axons, neuritic plaques, and neurofibrillary tangles associated with Alzheimer's disease.
What is 'background staining' and how is it typically reduced in immunohistochemistry?
Answer: Nonspecific antibody binding to tissue; reduced by blocking with serum or BSA
Background staining results from nonspecific antibody binding and is minimized by pre-incubating tissue with normal serum, BSA, or commercial blocking reagents.
Which stain is used to identify mast cells based on metachromatic staining of their granules?
Answer: Both toluidine blue and Alcian blue at pH 1.0
Both toluidine blue (producing metachromatic purple-red granules) and Alcian blue at pH 1.0 (staining only highly sulfated proteoglycans) are used to identify mast cell granules.
In fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), what is the primary purpose of the probe?
Answer: To hybridize to a specific complementary DNA or RNA sequence in the tissue
FISH probes are fluorochrome-labeled nucleic acid sequences that hybridize to complementary target sequences, allowing visualization of specific chromosomal loci or gene copy numbers.