Dear Histonet,
1.  I have problems staining tendon with Masson Trichrome.  It seems 
like parts of the fibers were dissolved by the method.  I've stained 
same set of tendons with Alcian Blue, pH 2.5, and there was no obvious 
change.  So I'd assume that acetic acid wasn't at fault.  I'd think 
the phosphomolybdic acid was the culprit.  I have repeated the 
procedure several times.  When I stained femoral head sections with 
MT, it worked nicely.  Please help.  Is there any substitute for 
phosphomolybdic acid? Tissues were fixed in Bouin's solution.  Since 
the tendons are quite thick, 5-8mm, they were fixed for 3 days.  The 
excess picric acid was removed after rehydration of the tissues prior 
to hematoxylin step, not prior to processing.

2.  What will happen if I forgot to shake the tissues for the first 12 
hours of fixation?  (Bouin's fixative solution was used.)

Thank you in advance