Conclusions and summary
Depending on the pretreatment of tissue sections, resorcin-fuchsin stained collagen, reticulum fibers and/or basement membranes and ring fibers intensely. It must therefore be concluded that resorcin-fuchsin is not specific for the protein elastin, that is elastic fibers in the chemical sense of the term.
Studies of van Gieson-type stains showed relation between dye structure and affinity for connective tissue fibers. These observations are in good agreement with data from textile and leather dyeing that the behaviour of sulfonated dyes is largely determined by the configuration of the dye molecule and the presence of additional reactive groups.
Polarization microscopic studies of stained sections — based on data derived from textile chemistry — demonstrated the possibility to obtain information concerning the submicroscopic structure of tissue components. Several methods, though still in the experimental stage, have been found valuable for the study of pathological lesions of connective tissue. Because electron microscopy is unsuitable for routine histopathology, it is highly desirable to develop convenient methods for the study of submicroscopic structures in general hospital pathology.
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Puchtler, H., Sweat, F. Histochemical specifity of staining methods for connective tissue fibers: Resorcin-fuchsin and van Gieson's picro-fuchsin. Histochemie 4, 24–34 (1964). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00304175
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00304175