On the nature of Romanowsky-Giemasa staining and its significance for cytochemistry and histochemistry: an overall view

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Abstract
The chances of Romanowsky-Giemsa (RG) staining becorning a reliable and useful histochemical procedure are reviewed, based on the now proven fact that RG staining requires two dyes only, namely, cationic Azure B and anionic Eosin Y. These two dyes differe from otherwise similar dye combinations in that they give, on distinct biological substrates, one additional colour, purple, which cannot be obtained by the use of either dye alone. The purple colour characterizes the Romanowsky-Giemsa effect (RGE), which is the essential feature of RG staining.