Gomori's Hematoxylin as a cHromosome Stain

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Abstract
The chromic hematoxylin of Gomori (1941) can be used as an excellent chromosome stain after hydrolysis of the tissue in warm 1–N hydrochloric acid. The hydrolysis must be accurately timed for different material as in the case of the Feulgen reaction. The staining of sections can be performed at room temperature and requires about 15 minutes. For pieces of tissue and whole preparations, it is recommended to stain at 60°C. for 40 minutes. Sections stained at room temperature can be differentiated in 1% hydrochloric acid alcohol for one minute and can be counterstained with phloxine according to Gomori's formula. Whole preparations or sections stained at 60°C. must be differentiated in 45% acetic acid for half an hour or more. Tissue pieces may, after staining, be squashed and examined in the acetic acid, but the preparations can also be made permanent. The blue-black stain is very selective and has the advantage of giving high contrast, and it is nonfading, and insoluble in water and other common reagents. It proved definitely superior to other chromosome stains for difficult material such as planarians, rabbit blastocysts, and cleavage stages of sea urchins. Though both the procedure and the result of this method show some similarity to the Feulgen reaction nothing can be said with certainty about its chemical basis.