Distinction of gray and white matter for some histological staining methods in New Zealand rabbit's brain

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the abilities of some staining methods used in histology to detect neuroglia, cell groups and moieties such as axons and dendrites in the brain, and the ability of detecting the white matter limit. Materials and Methods: Brain tissue from a 14-month-old New Zealand Rabbit was used in the study. The brain was sliced transversally to make it suitable for histological procedures. For this, the brains were placed on the millimeter paper and sliced into three equal parts. The obtained samples were cut 10?m thickness from same side and cranial to caudal and, slides were stained with six staining methods. Each of these slides was photographed as jpeg format by means of a microscope. The sectional images obtained were transferred to Image J programme to estimate their areas. The Likert scale was used to investigate the adequacy of staining methods to determine the border of gray and white matter and cell groups in the brain. As a result of these procedures, statistical results of obtained data were presented in tables and figures. Results: As a result of the Likert scale, CT was the highest score whereas MGG was the lowest average score. Considering all structures in the brain, KB, MGG, MMGG and CT stainings for neuroglia cells; KB, MGG and MMGG staining methods for axon, dendrite and Nissl bodies; furthermore for ependymal cells, pia mater and choroid plexus KB, MGG, MMGG, CT, AgNORs and HE staining methods were found to have the highest score. In the distinction of gray and white matter, KB, MG, MMGG and CT staining methods had the highest score, also. Conclusions: With this study, it is thought that it would help the researchers to determine the boundaries of the anatomical structures of interest in the brain and the selection of histological stains that should be used in the staining of the desired cell groups. © 2020, Radiance Research Academy. All rights reserved.