• Examine a slide stained with H&E and identify basophilic and acidophilic structures: urinary bladder first stained with H&E
• Now, look at the same tissue, but stained with Masson's trichrome: stained with Masson's Trichrome.
• Examine the slides under low power and compare the staining properties shown by the two methods.
• You should start to become familiar with the properties associated with these common stains and be able to recognize the most common staining techniques used on your slides.

What are the relative advantages of these two staining methods noted above?

A well-executed H&E stained specimen provides varying degrees of eosinophilia that together with other morphological features will help you to identify the four basic tissue types: epithelium, muscle, connective tissue, and nerve tissue. The basophilic staining provided by hematoxylin helps illuminate nuclei, nucleoli, and rough endoplasmic reticulum. These features provide information to help you distinguish cell types and interpret the developmental and functional states of cells. A well-executed Masson’s trichrome stained specimen provides a stark contrast between cells (red) and connective tissue (blue), making it easy to distinguish connective tissues from the other basic tissue types.

How many dimensions do you see?