Toluidine blue stain shows what?

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Multiple Choice

Toluidine blue stain shows what?

Explanation:
Toluidine blue highlights mast cells because their granules are rich in sulfated glycosaminoglycans that cause metachromasia with this dye. The granules stain a purple color, distinct from the blue of surrounding tissue, making mast cells easy to identify in sections. Other targets—like myelin, fungi, or hemosiderin—require different stains (myelin with Luxol fast blue, fungi with PAS or Gomori methenamine silver, hemosiderin with Prussian blue), so toluidine blue is particularly characteristic for locating mast cells.

Toluidine blue highlights mast cells because their granules are rich in sulfated glycosaminoglycans that cause metachromasia with this dye. The granules stain a purple color, distinct from the blue of surrounding tissue, making mast cells easy to identify in sections. Other targets—like myelin, fungi, or hemosiderin—require different stains (myelin with Luxol fast blue, fungi with PAS or Gomori methenamine silver, hemosiderin with Prussian blue), so toluidine blue is particularly characteristic for locating mast cells.

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