Masson Trichrome Variants
Materials
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.
| Material | Reagent | Variant | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gen | V-A1 | V-A2 | V-A3 | V-A4 | V-B | V-C | Lillie | ||
| Plasma stain | Acid fuchsin | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.35 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 1.0 | ||
| Ponceau 2R | 0.5 | 0.65 | 1.0 | 1.0 | |||||
| Biebrich scarlet | 0.5 | ||||||||
| Acetic acid | 1.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | ||
| Polyacid | Molybdophosphoric acid | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.5 |
| Tungstophosphoric acid | 2.5 | ||||||||
| Fibre Stain | Light green SF yellowish | 2.0 | |||||||
| Aniline blue | sat. | sat. | sat. | sat. | 0.5 | ||||
| Fast green FCF | 2.5 | ||||||||
| Metanil yellow | sat. | ||||||||
| Phosphomolybdic acid | 0.5 | ||||||||
| Acetic acid | 2.0 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | |||
Protocol
- Bring sections to water via xylene and ethanol (all variations).
- Treat with picric acid or Bouin’s fluid if wished.
- Stain nuclei with an acid resistant nuclear stain (Weigert, celestine blue hemalum).
- Wash with water. Rinse well with distilled water.
| Variant | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gen | V-A (all) | V-B | V-B | Lillie | ||
| 5 | Treat with plasma stain | 10 min | 10 min | 5 min (50°C) | 5 min | 2 min |
| 6 | Treat with polyacid. | 5 min | 5 min | 5-10 min | 5 min | 1 min |
| 7 | Treat with fibre stain | 10 min | 2-5 min | 20-60 min | 5 min | 2 min |
| 8 | Rinse with distilled water. | As needed | — | As needed | As needed | — |
| 9 | Treat with 1% acetic acid water. | — | As needed | — | 5 min | 1 min |
| 10 | Dehydrate with ethanol, clear with xylene and mount using a resinous medium (all variations). | |||||
Expected Results
- Muscle – red
- Collagen – green, blue or yellow
- Nuclei – black
Safety Note
Prior to handling any chemical, consult the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for proper handling and safety precautions.
