Basic stains in the microbiology laboratory
Keywords:
Laboratory stains, microorganism, microbiology, Gram,, Wright,, Ziehl-Neelsen, lactophenol blueAbstract
Stains in microbiology lab are the first tools employed for diagnosis of infectious diseases. Stains
have helped to identify the ethiology of microbial involvement for more than a century. As
the wide spectrum of stains is currently in progress for the detection of bacteria, fungus and
parasites, such fundamentals as the Gram stain are still considered basic for initial evaluation
of bacteriological samples, while the Wright stain is used for very particular diseases as those
related to parasites. Other specific tintorial methods as the Ziehl-Neelsen stain are used for
diagnosis of chronic diseases such as tuberculosis oractinomycosis. The lactophenol blue stain
is best employed for diagnosis of fungal infections, as it helps to identify fungi and to preserve
their morphological structures. Different stains in the clinical microbiological lab are permanent
basic tools for the diagnosis and treatment of many diseases of infectious ethiology.
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