THE APPLICABILITY OF HEMATOXYLIN-EOSIN STAINING PLUS FLUORESCENCE OR CONFOCAL LASER-SCANNING MICROSCOPY TO THE STUDY OF ELASTIC FIBERS IN CARTILAGES

This study focuses on the use of hemotoxylin-eosin staining plus fluor escence microscopy for the investigation of elastic fibers in some ela stic cartilages. We have observed that elastic fibers are consistently imaged by the proposed procedure and the resolution attained is simil ar to that obtained with the classical Weigert's fuchsin-resorcin. The results also demonstrate that elastin autofluorescence gives little o r no contribution to the final fluorescence and that the use of the co nfocal laser scanning microscope adds to the resolution, permits the u se of thicker sections and reveals of minute structural features. We c onclude that this is a relevant tool in elastin research.