This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Wright's stain is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:
Related Sponsors
Wright's stain is a histologic stain that facilitates the differentiation of blood cell types. It is used primarily to stain peripheral blood smears and bone marrow aspirates which are examined under a light microscope. In cytogenetics it is used to stain chromosomes to facilitate diagnosis of syndromes and diseases.
It is named for James Homer Wright, who devised the stain, a modification of the Romanowsky stain, in 1902. Because it distinguishes easily between blood cells, it became widely used for performing differential white blood cell counts, which are routinely ordered when infections are expected, and as part of an assessment of overall health.
There are related stains known as the buffered Wright stain, the Wright-Giemsa stain, and the buffered Wright-Giemsa stain, and specific instructions depend on the solutions being used, which may include Eosin Y, Azure B, and Methylene Blue (some commercial preparations combine solutions to simplify staining). The May-Grünwald stain, which produces a more intense coloration, also takes a longer time to perform.
White blood cells stained with Wright's stain:
See also
External links
- Wright+stain at eMedicine Dictionary
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 7 November 2008, at 04:48.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Wright's stain".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.