A RAPID METHOD FOR SELECTIVE SILVER STAINING OF NERVE FIBRES AND NERVE ENDINGS IN MOUNTED PARAFFIN SECTIONS

Abstract The staining described in this paper fundamentally is performed by two manipulations, namely (1) the treatment of deparaffinized sections for about fifteen minutes in a solution containing 15 per cent silver nitrate, 10 per cent potassium nitrate and 0.05 per cent glycine, and (2) the reduction for one minute in a solution of 1 per cent pyrogallol, 55 per cent ethyl alcohol and a trace (0.002 per cent) of nitric acid. After toning, dehydrating and mounting in the usual manner the sections generally are ready for examinations within less than an hour. The method is available for specimens fixed in the ordinary fixatives but those containing oxidizing metal compounds. The procedure is discussed from a theoretical point of view and some results are shown in photomicrographs.