Eosin is an orange-pink dye derived from coal tar. It can be used to stain cytoplasm, collagen and muscle fibers for examination under the microscope. Yarn drying after being dyed in the early American tradition, at Conner Prairie living history museum. ... Coal tar is the liquid by-product of the distillation of coal to make coke. ... Cytoplasm is a jelly-like material, made up of mostly water, that fills the cell. ... Collagen is the main protein of connective tissue. ... A top-down view of skeletal muscle Muscle is a contractile form of tissue. ... 1852 microscope Compound microscope made by John Cuff in 1750 A microscope (Greek: micron = small and scopos = aim) is an instrument for viewing objects that are too small to be seen by the naked or unaided eye. ...

There are actually two very closely related compounds commonly referred to as eosin. Most often used is eosin Y (also known as eosin Y ws or eosin yellowish); it has a very slightly yellowish cast. The other eosin compound is eosin B (eosin bluish or imperial red); it has a very faint bluish cast. The two dyes are interchangeable, and the use of one or the other is a matter of preference and tradition.

Eosin is most often used as a counterstain to haematoxylin in H&E (haematoxylin and eosin) staining. H&E staining is one of the most commonly used techniques in histology. Tissue stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin shows cytoplasm stained pink-orange and nuclei stained darkly, either blue or purple. Eosin also stains red blood cells intensely red. Eosin is an acidic dye and shows up in the basic parts of the cell, ie the cytoplasm. Hematoxylin however is a basic dye and shows up in the acidic part of the cell. For example the nucleus, where nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) are concentrated. Haematoxylin is extracted from the wood of the logwood tree. ... For staining in the sense of wood staining, see Wood staining. ... Histology is the study of tissue sectioned as a thin slice, using a microscope. ... Biological tissue is a substance made up of cells that perform a similar function. ... Haematoxylin is extracted from the wood of the logwood tree. ... In cell biology, the nucleus (from Latin nucleus or nuculeus, kernel) is an organelle, found in all eukaryotic cells, which contains most of the cells genetic material. ... Human red blood cells Red blood cells are the most common type of blood cell and are the vertebrate bodys principal means of delivering oxygen to body tissues via the blood. ... Haematoxylin is extracted from the wood of the logwood tree. ... Highly simplified diagram of a double-stranded nucleic acid. ... Space-filling model of a section of DNA molecule Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions specifying the biological development of all cellular forms of life (and many viruses). ... Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a nucleic acid consisting of a string of covalently-bound nucleotides. ...