Which tissue is used as the control slide for Gordon & Sweet's?

• A. Spleen or liver
• B. Grey matter
• C. Aorta or skin
• D. Known amyloid slide

Answer: (A)

Gordon & Sweet’s stain is a silver-impregnation method used to visualize reticular fibers (the delicate type III collagen network) in tissue sections. The best control tissue is one that consistently shows a dense, well-defined reticular framework, so you can confirm the stain is working properly. The spleen and liver are ideal for this because their architecture is built on a prominent reticular fiber network—the spleen’s white and red pulp are supported by reticular fibers, and the liver’s sinusoids and stroma rely on a rich reticular framework. When stained, these tissues reliably display a strong, visible reticular pattern, which serves as a positive control to verify that the staining reagents, timing, and technique are functioning correctly.

Other tissues don’t provide the same reliable reticular pattern for this stain. Grey matter lacks the specific dense reticular scaffolding that Gordon & Sweet’s stain targets. The aorta or skin have different dominant structures (elastic fibers, collagen in a different arrangement) that don’t showcase the delicate reticular network as clearly. A known amyloid slide isn’t appropriate here because the goal is to demonstrate reticular fibers, not amyloid deposition, which would be assessed with a different stain.