Hematein-its Advantages for General Laboratory Usage

The advantages of hematein over hematoxylin are that it is easy to prepare, easy to use, and saves time; while it gives equally good results. The writer has been employing for some time a pre-war imported hematein and until within the last few months has been unable to locate a satisfactory product of recent manufacture, either domestic or foreign. At the request of the Biological Stain Commission, however, an American manufacturer has at last put on the market a C. P. hematein which gives splendid results. The technic is as follows:

Paraffin or celloidin sections of Bouin or Zenker-formol material are run down to water and stained about 5 minutes in Mayer's hemalum (0.5 g. hematein ground up in a glass mortar with 10 cc. 95% alcohol and added to 500 cc. of 5% aqu. sol. potassium alum.) Rinse 1 to 3 seconds in tap water. Dip 1 to 3 seconds in eosin B (1 part 0.5% sol. in 20% alc. added to 2 pats dist. water; filtered from time to time). Wash several minutes in running water or in several changes of tap water. Dehydrate and mount; with unattached celloidin sections this may be done by running up to 95% alcohol, spreading on slide, blotting, wetting with absolute alcohol, draining and mounting in euparal.