[Histonet] Chromic acid vs periodic acid, old times, desmin IHC,

[JOHN COLEMAN]

For GMS in our lab we tried both Chromic and Periodic and found that because of the weakness of the Periodic we got positive non specific fiber and histiocyte staining in our Pneumocystis GMS slides that our pathologists didn't  like to see. Stronger oxidation= cleaner stain (for us) and better contrast of target items. 

How about doing animal surgery without gloves, having a charcoal grill running burgers inside the morgue room on the spare table under the vent, "lunch and learn" brain cuttings in the autopsy suite, practical jokes which included exploding purple iodine clouds from under the toilet seat, and body bags full of striped bass in the cold storage unit! Work uniforms? How about shorts and a cutoff t- shirt underneath a lab coat. (I think sometimes somebody skipped the pants altogether!)

Desmin- for desmin IHC i've found a 95C bath of high PH + EDTA retrieval solution (Trilogy from Cellmarque) for 15 minutes and no trypsin= less morphologic ruination. (Trypsin + heat retrieval= mush nuclei and swollen collagen. ) Desmin from Biogenex, 1:80 dilution 30 min incubation.