Andrew
Hi and happy holidays to you.
Have you tried using hematoxylin? Growth rings in bone in general can be
shown very elegantly using hematoxylins. Reversal and other lines stain
darker due to their higher organic contant including osteopontin. We used
to use Delafield's hematoxylin in an overnight staining. However this is
not essential, can use hematoxylin such as Ehrlich's diluted to between a
1-5% solution with glass distilled water. (Best to filter before use).
Stain progressively for a few hours to overnight. Differentiation usually
not necessary.
Other stains such as Mallory's Phosphotungstic acid thionin work on regular
sections but not sure about plastic due to the precipitate.
Barry
Barry

At 04:09 PM 12/12/2001 +1000, you wrote:
>Hi
>
>I'd like to know if anyone knows what stains are applicable to highlight the
>annual growth rings on fish vertebrae.  I'm planning on embedding in resin
>and sectioning the vertebrae.
>
>Andrew
>
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