On Thu, 4 May 2000, Jeff Crews wrote:

> Here's a related question: why do so many of the spirochete and HP stains 
> contain a gelatin, gum, or resin? I haven't been able to find a rationale 

  The answer to this question can't be done in a 3-screen email, because
  nobody on earth can understand silver stains without spending a few
  hours in careful reading of printed words. The gelatin or gum is to
  stabilize a physical developer - a term derived form the early days of
  photographic chemistry.

  A whole issue of J. Histotechnol. was devoted to silver methods, about
  3 years ago. It contains about 10 review articles. Also, most textbooks
  have one or more chapters devoted to this subject. The answers to your
  simple "why" question are numerous! 

 John A. Kiernan,
 Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology,
 The University of Western Ontario,
 LONDON,  Canada  N6A 5C1