Todayโs special stain is ๐๐ซ๐๐ฆ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ข๐ง!
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ฆ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ข๐ง?
Gram stains are probably one of the most frequently requested special stains. This stain highlights ๐๐๐๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ข๐, which can be incredibly difficult to identify on our standard H&E stain! Not only does the stain help identify bacteria, it can also classify them into two categories: ๐๐ซ๐๐ฆ-๐ฉ๐จ๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ and ๐๐ซ๐๐ฆ-๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐. Gram-positive organisms appear blue or black, while Gram-negative organisms appear red or pink. This classification can give the pathologist a clue about what species of bacteria might be involved.
This image is a milk sample from a case of ๐ฆ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ฌ (mammary gland infection) in a cow. The dark blue bacterial organisms shown were identified as ๐๐ซ๐ฎ๐๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฉ๐ฒ๐จ๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ฌ on bacterial culture.
Photo ยฉย Dr. Joe Rubin under CC BY-NC 2.0 Generic.
