. It is used in biology and medicine as a
histological stain. Cresyl violet is an effective and reliable stain used for light microscopy sections. Initially, tissue sections are "defatted" by passing through graded dilutions of
ethanol. Then, rehydrated by passing back through decreasing concentrations of ethanol. Lastly, back into water. The ethanol solutions act to differentiate the stain, causing myelin and other components to lose color whereas
perikarya retain the color. It is also used to find
Helicobacter pylori.
Intestinal mucins also take up the stain although not as strongly as
Campylobacter-like organisms. Cresyl violet is used to stain
Heinz bodies in red blood corpuscles or for staining of the
neurons in the
brain and
spinal cord. It is used to demonstrate the
Nissl substance in the neurons and
cell nuclei. In this role it is also often used as a
counterstain to
Luxol fast blue, which stains the
myelin. ==References==