Special Stains Used in Haematology

Haematology is a branch of medicine concerning the study of blood, the blood-forming organs, and blood diseases. As well as it is the study of the normal and pathologic aspects of blood and blood elements (Springer Link, 2021). The word “Heme” comes from the Greek for blood. Haematology is practised by specialists in the field who deal with the diagnosis, treatment and overall management of people with blood disorders (News Medical Life science, 2021).
Blood films are usually examined to investigate haematological problems and occasionally, to look for parasites within the blood such as malaria. Examination of thin blood films is important in the investigation and management of anaemia, infections and other conditions which produce changes in the appearance of blood cells and differential white cell count (Shahid, 2019). In this procedure, if we want to see blood components, blood films should be stained. Staining is the procedure that is performed to visualize selected tissue elements, entities and microorganism. An example of, principle staining technique that is used in Haematology is the Leishman stain. The type of the stain varies according to the blood component to be monitored. Here we mainly focus on special stains that are used in Haematology.
“Special stain” is a term used to refer to many alternative staining techniques that are used when the traditional stains do not provide all the information the Hematologist or researcher needs from a blood smear (Leica Biosystems, 2021). Special staining is performed to visualize selected tissue elements, cells, entities and microorganisms. Based on classical dye staining methods, this technique provide valuable information in the evaluation of numerous abnormal or disease conditions (Special staining overview, special staining, 2021). There are several special stains employed to identify specific inflammatory cells seen in peripheral blood and tissues. These include the all-purpose wright-giemas and giemas and Giemsa stains, leukocyte alkaline phosphatase (LPL), tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase and so on (Special Stains in Histology, Haematologic stains, 2021).
As well as special stains have two broad areas of application: research and diagnostic. In research, special stains are used as probes to identify certain chemical constituent in normal and abnormal cells. The information so obtained is used as a basis for further study and also as a baseline against which the results of special staining can be compared in diagnostic applications.