(stān)
1. A discoloration.
2. A pigment or dye used in coloring microscopic objects and tissues.
3. To apply pigment or dye to a tissue or microscopic object or tissue.
A chemical used to stain the cytoplasmic or basic components of cells.
A stain used in bacteriology, esp. for staining Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Nocardia, and other species. A special solution of carbolfuchsin is used, which the organism retains in spite of washing with the decolorizing agent acid alcohol.
SEE: Ziehl-Neelsen method
A stain used to distinguish type 1 from type 2 muscle fibers microscopically. VAR: adenosine triphosphatase s.
A histologic stain used to identify acid-fast bacilli, e.g., Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
A chemical used to add pigment to the nuclear or acidic components of cells.
A fluorescent stain used in microbiology to highlight fungi, including species of Pneumocystis.
A stain that has been certified by the Biological Stain Commission.
A stain used to color one part of a tissue or cell, unaffected when another part is stained by another color.
SEE: counterstain
A discoloration accumulating on the surface of teeth, dentures, or denture base material, most often attributed to the use of tea, coffee, or tobacco. Many stains contain calcium, carbon, copper, iron, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur. Stains may be intrinsic or extrinsic. Extrinsic stains of teeth can be removed, e.g., by brushing, rinsing, or sonication. Intrinsic stains cannot be removed by these methods.
In bacteriology, a stain such as Gram stain that enables one to distinguish different types of bacteria.
A mixture of two contrasting dyes, usually an acid and a basic stain.
SEE: Feulgen stain
SEE: Giemsa stain
SEE: Gram stain
A stain using silver ions to demonstrate fungal cell walls. The stain uses an argentaffin reaction to give the polysaccharide component of the cell wall a dark brown or black color.
A common method of staining tissues for microscopic examination. It stains nuclei blue-black and cytoplasm pink.
hemosiderin staining A discoloration of the skin where there has been significant bruising. It can happen after liposuction or other surgery. It typically resolves with time.
SEE: hemosiderin
A nontoxic dye that, when introduced into a metabolically active (living) organism, selectively stains certain cells or tissues.
SYN: SEE: vital stain
A basic stain that, when under the influence of a mordant, acts as an acid stain.
SEE: Jenner stain
A stain which causes cells or tissues to take on a color different from the stain itself.
A combination of an acid and a basic stain.
A dye added to a tissue specimen that binds to tissue indiscriminately, making it more difficult to distinguish one part from the next.
A basic stain that colors cell nuclei, but does not stain structures in the cytoplasm.
SEE: Perls stain
ABBR: PTAH A histological stain that binds to proteins, used primarily to stain skeletal muscles and mitochondria. It is also used to identify glial cells in the central nervous system and fibrin.
SEE: Nevus flammeus.
SEE: nevus flammeus for illus.
A stain that highlights features of a cell or organism that cannot be readily identified with routine histological or microbiological staining techniques.
A stain that is directly absorbed by the tissues when they are immersed in the staining solution.
Stain that will color living cells or tissues that have been removed from the body.
A three-colored tissue stain consisting of scarlet, phospho acid, and aniline blue dyes. It is used primarily in hepatic and renal biopsies to distinguish between collagen and smooth muscle fibers.
In arteriography, an abnormally dense area in a radiographical image caused by the collection of contrast medium in the vessels. This may be a sign of neoplastic growth.
A cellular stain taken up only by living cells and used to demonstrate that those cells are enzymatically active.
SEE: Intravital stain.
SEE: Wright stain
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