Comparison between Giemsa and Van Geison stains in demonstration of collagen fibers (Kosti-2016)

Trichrome stain (such as Van Geison) is usually used in histopathology laboratory for demonstration of collagenic fibers. Lack of selectivity and tendency of stain to fade makes van Gieson not ideal for collagen demonstration. This study was aimed to compare between Giemsa's and van Gieson's stains in collagen fibers  demonstration. Twenty biopsies were obtained from rabbit’s skin after anesthesia by chloroform and immediately fixed by 10% neutral buffered formalin for 48 h. Then samples were processed using tissue processing machine and sectioned by rotary microtome. Two hundred (200) tissue sections of 5 micron thickness were prepared. A 100 tissue sections was stained by Van Geison and another 100 tissue sections stained by Giemsa. The stained section was compared with illustrated photomicrographs in order to assess staining quality. Best collagen staining quality was obtained by Van Geison's 60 (60%) and 40 (40%), mean 1.40, followed by Giemsa's stain excellent 55 (55%) and good 45 (45%), mean 1.45. Conclusively, Van Geison's is superior but Giemsa stain is rapid, sensitive without fading tendency, easy to perform and low cost and can be used as special stain under optimized conditions. Key words : Collagen, Giemsa, Van Geison.