VVG staining and placenta

You need to control this differentiation step visually under the microscope, there is no ideal time since sections vary. Just wipe the bootom dry and put a slide on the scope and watch- when the collagen becomes gray to clear and the elastica in vessels being to emerge from the murky darkness you are getting there. Rinse in water to stop the decolorization. The Verhoeff- actually an acid orcein Verhoeff mixture, is the elastic/nuclear stain in my modified Movat Pentachrome.

Ian- this stain might look nice on placenta- especially the alcian blue -saffron combination that highlights ground substance and varying degrees of collagenization of the ground substance. Below is the link to the reprinted version of the 1972 paper (thanks Vinnie for running it again). Just one typo- a step has been deleted between steps 6 and 7 you must do just what we are discussing- differentiate in 2% ferric chloride under the microscope until collagen is almost colorless and elastica stands out black. Then wash in water for three minutes and continue on.

Poly Scientific R and D sells a Movat kit but I think it is the original method. They are a good company so it is worth checking out.