Isohematein as a Biological Stain

The possible use of isohematein as a biological stain is considered. Certain characteristics of the dye are discussed in relation to staining technic. A preliminary series of experiments is described. The stomach of the frog, skeletal muscle of the frog, and spinal cord of the cat were used as representative tissues. The dye has greater tinctorial power than hematoxylin (hematein) but it is not so selective for nuclei. The results at hand indicate that the dye may have some value as a differential stain for nerve cell bodies. Fibrillae in smooth muscle cells and cross striatums in skeletal muscle were also brought out.