Results for Wright's stain
On this page:
 
Medical Dictionary:

Wright's stain

(rīts)
n.

A specially prepared mixture of methylene blue and eosin in methanol, used in staining blood smears.

 
 
Wikipedia: Wright's stain

Wright's stain is a technique in histology that is used to make the differences between cells visible under light microscopy. It is used in the examination of peripheral blood smears and bone marrow aspirates. Wright's stain is also used in cytogenetics to stain chromosomes on slides for visualization and diagnosis of sydromes and disease.

It is named for James Homer Wright, who devised the stain, a modification of the Romanowsky stain, in 1902. Because it distinguishes easily between blood cells, it became widely used for performing differential white blood cell counts, which are routinely ordered when infections are expected, and as part of an assessment of overall health.

There are related stains known as the buffered Wright stain, the Wright-Giemsa stain, and the buffered Wright-Giemsa stain, and specific instructions depend on the solutions being used, which may include Eosin Y, Azure B, and Methylene Blue (some commercial preparations combine solutions to simplify staining). The May-Grünwald stain, which produces a more intense coloration, also takes a longer time to perform.

White blood cells stained with Wright's stain:

monocyte‎
Enlarge
monocyte‎
lymphocyte‎
Enlarge
lymphocyte‎
basophil‎
Enlarge
basophil‎
eosinophil‎
Enlarge
eosinophil‎
neutrophil‎
Enlarge
neutrophil‎

External links


 
 

Join the WikiAnswers Q&A community. Post a question or answer questions about "Wright's stain" at WikiAnswers.

 

Copyrights:

Medical Dictionary. The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Wright's stain" Read more

Search for answers directly from your browser with the FREE Answers.com Toolbar!  
Click here to download now. 

Get Answers your way! Check out all our free tools and products.

On this page:   E-mail   print Print  Link  

 

Keep Reading

Mentioned In: