Staining Methods

Abstract

The stain most frequently used by us and on which most plates in this book are based is the panoptic stain of Pappenheim. This is a combination of the Jenner-May-Grünwald stain with Giemsa stain and is carried out as follows:

Pour the prepared eosin methylene blue solution of May-Grünwald onto the airdried smear. After 3 min dilute this solution with water or buffer solution (phosphate buffer pH 7.3, see below) and allow to act for another 3 min. Pour off this solution and add the Giemsa solution without rinsing. The Giemsa stock solution is diluted with neutral distilled water in the ratio of ten drops of Giemsa solution to 10 ml water. Stain for 15–20 min. The concentration of the dilution and the duration of staining must always be individually adjusted to the quality of the stain. After staining with Giemsa solution rinse the preparation in neutral water and place it obliquely to dry in air.