Picrosirius red staining of cardiac muscle following phosphomolybdic acid treatment

Paul C. Dolber, Madison S. Spach

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

90 Scopus citations

Abstract

When the picrosirius red technique was applied to cardiac muscle sections, intense yellow myocyte staining sometimes obscured thin collagenous septa. The picrosirius red technique was modified to include treatment of the sections in 0.2% (w/v) aqueous phosphomolybdic acid prior to staining. With 1-5 min treatment, cytoplasmic staining was eradicated; diminution of collagen staining occurred only with long treatments at much higher concentrations of phosphomolybdic acid. Using this phosphomolybdic acid-picrosirius red technique, collagenous septa as thin as 0.2-0.5 /im and fine collagen fibers making up the septa were clearly discernible. The technique also worked well on sections stained by other techniques and then destained. The phosphomolybdic acid-picrosirius red technique should be useful in experiments designed to investigate the effects of collagen distribution on the electrical and mechanical behavior of cardiac muscle.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)23-26
Number of pages4
JournalBiotechnic and Histochemistry
Volume62
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 1987
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Histology
  • Medical Laboratory Technology

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