Masson Trichrome Variants
In the comparison chart below, all solids are in grams and all liquids are in millilitres with the exception of sat., which means a saturated solution. In each case, dissolve the reagents in distilled water, and make the final volume up to 100 mL.
For more details of each Masson variant, please select the header for each column.
| Solution | Reagent | Gen | V-A1 | V-A2 | V-A3 | V-A4 | V-B | V-C | Lillie |
| Plasma stain |
Acid fuchsin Ponceau 2R Biebrich scarlet Acetic acid |
0.5 0.5 1.0 |
0.5 0.5 |
0.35 0.65 1.0 |
1.0 1.0 |
1.0 1.0 1.0 |
0.1 |
1.0 1.0 |
0.5 1.0 |
| Polyacid | Molybdophosphoric acid Tungstophosphoric acid |
1.0 |
1.0 |
1.0 |
1.0 |
1.0 |
1.0 |
1.0 |
2.5 2.5 |
| Fibre stain |
Light green SF yellowish Aniline blue Fast green FCF Metanil yellow Phosphomolybdic acid Acetic acid |
2.0 2.0 |
sat. 2.5 |
sat. 2.5 |
sat. 2.5 |
sat. 2.5 |
0.5 0.5 |
sat. |
2.5 2.5 |
Staining
In the chart below the numbers refer to the time in minutes for which each solution should be applied. As with most staining techniques, these times are recommendations and should be altered if necessary to optimise results. Please consult the full method for more details.
Most trichrome stains benefit from fixation with picric acid or mercuric chloride containing fixatives. If simple formalin fixation has been used, sections may be beneficially treated with a saturated aqueous picric acid solution or Bouin's picro-formalin-acetic mixture for an hour at 56°C.
Method
| Gen | V-A (all) | V-B | V-C | Lillie | ||
| 6 | Plasma stain | 10 | 5 | 5 (50°C) | 5 | 2 |
| 7 | Polyacid | 5 | 5 | 5-10 | 5 | 1 |
| 8 | Fibre stain | 10 | 2-5 | 20-60 | 5 | 2 |
| 9 | Distilled water | Rinse | Rinse | Rinse | ||
| 10 | 1% acetic acid water | Differentiate | 5 | 1 | ||
Expected results
