True or False: Masson trichrome and van Gieson stains are used to demonstrate elastic tissue.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Only Masson trichrome
• D. Only van Gieson

Answer: (B)

Elastic tissue shows up best when you use stains that specifically bind to elastin. Masson trichrome is designed to distinguish collagen from other tissues by staining collagen blue/green and muscle/cytoplasm red, with nuclei dark—elastic fibers aren’t clearly highlighted. Van Gieson differentiates collagen (pink/red) from other tissue components like muscle (yellow), but it doesn’t reliably reveal elastic fibers either. Because these stains aren’t tuned to visualize elastin, the statement is false. For elastic tissue, use elastin-specific stains such as Verhoeff’s, Weigert’s resorcin–fuchsin, or orcein to make elastic fibers appear distinctly contrasted against surrounding tissue.