STAINING OF FUNGI IN SCALES AND HAIRS

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Staining. methods are of much less practical importance in medical mycology than in bacteriology. Bacteria must be stained, as a rule, in order to be seen. Fungi, especially the superficial cutaneous pathogens, can be observed without staining in preparations cleared in an aqueous solution of potassium hydroxide, and the efficiency, simplicity and speed with which it may be done have made this method of examination popular in routine mycologic work. Staining of fungi in hairs and scrapings from the skin or nails requires more complex equipment and more time, and often not all fungi present in a specimen are stained equally well. The keratinized cells resist the penetration of dyes and make it difficult to stain fungi inside hairs, scales and hard fragments of nails. The stained preparations possess, however, several important advantages as compared with specimens cleared in potassium hydroxide. The stained preparations are permanent. They reveal the fine

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: