Cells

Epithelium Histology

Connective Tissue Histology

Cartilage and Bone Histology

Blood and Hematopoiesis

Muscle Histology

Nervous System Histology

Lymphatic System Histology

Integumentary System Histology

Comprehensive Histology 1

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Instructions: In order to use the histology flashcards, you need a browser that supports flash. Make sure the sound to your computer is on. Identify the tissue on each flashcard. Click on the flashcard for the answer.

Aldehyde Fuchsin
This histology stain can be used to stain pancreatic islet beta cell granules. This stains elastic fibers purple/black.

Alician Blue
This histology stain will stain mucins and mucosubstances blue. Copper in the histology stain is what ultimately is responsible for the blue color. Nuclei will stain pink/red. Cytoplasm stains a lighter pink. Mucins stain blue.

Histology slide courtesy
of Paragon Bioservices

Alizarin Red S
This histology stain is an anthraquinone derivative. This histology stain can be may be used to identify calcium in tissue sections.

Alkaline Phosphatase
This histology stain will stain endothelial cells. Sites of alkaline phophatase activity will appear red. Nuclei will stain blue.

Histology slide courtesy
of Paragon Bioservices

Bielschowsky Stain
Silver is used in this histology staining process. This histology stain shows reticular fibers. This histology stain is also used for showing neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques. Neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques will stain black.

Histology slide courtesy
of Paragon Bioservices

Cajal Stain
This histology stain is used on nervous tissue.

Histology slide courtesy of 
Education Interactive, Human Histology Photo CD

Congo Red
Congo red histology stain is used to stain amyloid. Amyloid will stain orange/red.

Histology slide courtesy of 
Corel Professional Photos Histology CD

Cresyl Violet
This histology stain is a Nissl stain. Cresyl violet will stain both neurons and glia. It bonds well with acidic parts of cells such as ribosomes, nuclei and nucleoli. It stains cell bodies a blue/violet.

Histology slide courtesy of 
CDC/Dr. Karp, Emory University

Fontana-Masson
This histology stain uses silver. Fontana-Masson stains argentaffin granules and melanin black. The nucleus will stain pink/red. The cytoplasm will stain light pink.

Histology slide courtesy
of Paragon Bioservices

Giemsa Stain
This is a histology stain for peripheral blood smears and bone marrow. It is also used to visualize parasites and malaria. This is a Romanowski type stain. Methylene blue and eosin are used. Erythrocytes stain pink/red. Platelets and leukocytes stain blue.

This micrograph depicts the appearance of a well-stained slide using the Giemsa staining technique. 
Note that the acidic components of the cellular constituents such as the cytoplasm and chromatin, pick up the basic methylene blue azure compliments of the Giemsa stain, which reveals the characteristic blue 
coloration of this stain.

Histology slide courtesy of
CDC/ Steven Glenn, Laboratory & Consultation Division

Golgi Stain
This histology stain will stain neurons.

Histology slide courtesy
of Paragon Bioservices

Gomori Trichrome
A trichrome histology stain is a mixture of three dyes. Gomori's trichrome will stain connective tissue and collagen green or blue. It stains muscle, keratin and cytoplasm red. Nuclei will stain gray/blue/black.

H&E
This is a standard histology stain. "H&E" stand for hematoxylin and eosin. Hematoxylin and eosin stain is used for routine tissue preparation frequently. This is the most often used combination in the histology lab for general purpose staining.

Hematoxylin can be thought of as a basic dye. It binds to acidic structures, staining them blue to purple. It will bind and stain nucleic acids. Therefore, the nucleus stains blue.

Eosin is an acid aniline dye. It will bind to and stain basic structures (or negatively charged structures), such as cationic amino groups on proteins. It stains them pink. Cytoplasm, muscle, connective tissue, colloid, red blood cells and decalcified bone matrix all stain pink to pink/orange/red with eosin.

With an H&E stain, mucus and cartilage will stain a light blue color.

Histology slide courtesy  of anonymous donation

Iron Hematoxylin 
This histology stain will stain nuclei bluish/black.

Luna Stain
This histology stain can be used to demonstrate elastin and mast cells. Elastin fibers and mast cells will stain purple. Nuclei will stain black.

Histology slide courtesy
of Paragon Bioservices

Luxol Fast Blue
This histology stain is the alcohol soluble equivalent of alician blue. Luxol fast blue is used to demonstrate myelin. It stains myelin blue to blue/green. Neurons stain violet. Red blood cells stain blue.

Histology slide courtesy
of Paragon Bioservices

Mallory Trichome
A trichrome histology stain is a mixture of three dyes. This histology stain is used on connective tissue to visualize collagen and reticular fibers.

Masson Trichome
A trichrome histology stain is a mixture of three dyes. This histology stain can be helpful for differentiating cellular from extracellular items. This histology stain uses light green, iron hematoxylin, and acid fuchsin. It is useful on connective tissue.

Collagen fibers stain green or blue with Masson's trichrome stain. Muscle and keratin will be red. Cytoplasm will be pink to red. Nuclei will be black.

Histology slide courtesy
of Paragon Bioservices

Movat's Pentachrome Stain
This histology stain is used to visualize connective tissue.

Histology slide courtesy of National
Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and
National Human Genome Research Institute

Mucicarmine
Mucicarmine is a histology stain used to see epithelial mucin. It stains it a deep red.

Nissl Stains
These histology stains are basic dyes. They stain RNA and DNA. It is used to see Nissl body in neurons. Nissl bodies stain purple/blue.

Histology slide courtesy
of Paragon Bioservices

Nuclear Fast Red
This histology stains nuclei red. The cytoplasm will be unstained or yellow. This histology slide of the liver tissue stained postive for calcium deposits (stained black) with Von Kossa and the background is stained with nuclear fast red.

Histology slide courtesy
of Colorado HistoPrep

Oil Red O
This is a histology stain used for lipids. Lipids will stain red. Nuclei will stain blue/black.

Histology slide courtesy of 
Hiistopathology Reference Lab

Orcien Stain
A histology stain used for elastin fibers.

Osmium Tetroxide
This histology stain can be used to stain lipids. Collagen and erythrocytes will stain brown. Myelin and lipids will stain black.

Histology slide courtesy of 
Cutting Image Histology

Papanicolaou Stain
This histology stain is used mainly on exfoliated cytological specimens. Cells in smear preparations can be stained with Pap staining. Gynecological smears (Pap smears), sputum, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, abdominal fluid, pleural fluid, synovial fluid, semminal fluid and fine needle aspiration samples can all be stained with a Pap stain. This staining technique involving five dyes in three solutions.

Histology slide courtesy of
Alex Brollo/Hospital of Monfalcone (Italy)

Periodic Acid-Schiff (PAS) 
This histology stain is particularly useful for staining glycogen and other carbohydrates, but is useful for many things. It is often used to show glomeruli, basement membranes, and glycogen in the liver. PAS stains glycogen, mucin, mucoprotein, and glycoproteins magenta. The nuclei will stain blue. Collagen will stain pink.

Histology slide courtesy
of Paragon Bioservices

Phosphotungstic Acid-Hematoxylin (PTAH)
This histology stain is used to stain striated muscle fibers and mitochondria. They will stain blue. Nucleus, red blood cells and muscle all will stain blue. Collagen will stain red. In this histology slide of the tongue, PTAH stains the collagen pink, fibrin blue, and striated muscle blue as well.

Histology slide courtesy 
of Colorado HistoPrep

PicroSirius Red (polarized) 
When used with polarized light, this is a way to visualize collagen. With polarized microscopy, collagen fibers will be bright yellow or orange and the thinner fibers will be green.

Histology slide courtesy of 
Cutting Image Histology

Prussian Blue
Prussian blue histology stain is used to stain iron (ferric iron and ferritin).

Histology slide courtesy of
Dr. Gordon D. McLaren/CDC

Reticular Fiber Stain
This histology stain uses silver salt. Reticular fibers become black. Sometimes a counterstain is used.

Histology slide courtesy of 
Histopathology Reference Lab

Romanowsky Stains
These histology stains are used for blood and bone marrow. Examples of Romanowsky histology stains include Wright's stain, Giemsa stain and Jenner's stain. These histology stains are based on a combination of eosin and methylene blue.

Safranin O
This histology stain will stain mucin, cartilage and mast cells. It stains them orange/red. Safranin O is sometimes used as a counterstain.

Histology slide courtesy
of Paragon Bioservices

Silver Stains
These histology stains use silver. Argyrphilic tissue has an affinity for silver salts. The silver salts will be seen in argyrphilic tissues. Silver histology stains are used to show melanin and retiuclar fibers. Reticular fibers will stain black.

Sudan Stains
Sudan histology stains are used for staining of lipids and phospholipids. Examples of such histology stains are sudan black, sudan IV, and oil red O.

Tartrazine
This histology stain will stain cytoplasm, cartilage, and red blood cells yellow.

Toludine Blue
This knee joint is stained to show the growth plate in purple.

Histology slide courtesy 
of Colorado HistoPrep

Van Gieson
This histology stain is sometimes used in conjunction with iron hematoxylin. This histology stain can be used to differentiate collagen and smooth muscle. Cytoplasm and muscle stains brown/yellow. Collagen stains red. Red blood cells stain yellow. Cartilage stains pink.

Verhoeff Stain
A histology stain used for connective tissue and particularly to see elastic fibers. Sometimes a counter stain is used. This histology stain is can be useful when looking at lung tissue and arteries. Elastin will stain a dark brown/black. The nucleus of cells stains black.

Histology slide courtesy
of Paragon Bioservices

Von Kossa Stain
This histology stain is a silver reduction method used to visualize calcium and calcium deposits. Here the chondrocytes in the growth plate are staining black.

Histology slide courtesy 
of Colorado HistoPrep

Wright's Stain
This histology stain is used for blood smears and bone marrow smears.

This histology stain uses a blend of basic dyes, such as methylene blue derivatives and acid dyes, such as eosin.

Red blood cells stain reddish/pink. Eosinophilic granules will be a bright orange/red. The nucleus of white blood cells will stain purple. Basophilic granules will stain blue/black. Neutrophilic granules stain pale brown. Platelets stain purple. The cytoplasm of lymphocytes stains pale blue.

This histology slide has been stained using an "automatic staining" device. It is a Wright's stain.  The acidic components, such as the nucleic acids, will take on the basic portion of the stain, or the methylene azure color, and stain blue.  The basic components, such as erythrocyte hemoglobin, will stain pink with eosin, since eoisn is an acidic dye.

Histology slide courtesy of 
CDC/ Steven Glenn, Laboratory & Consultation Division