Dear Histonetters,
In the method that we use for the MSB stain we make up the martius yellow as 
a 0.5% solution in 2% phosphotungstic acid. Having recently seen a method 
which uses just 0.5% martius yellow (in alcohol) I decided to give it a go. 
To my surprise the fibrin staining was much brighter than the staining in my 
method using exactly the same control section which was placenta. However, it 
took a lot longer to differentiate after the scarlet red was applied.
Does anyone else out there in histoland not put PTA in their martius yellow? 
Any comments would be appreciated.
Jackie Smith.
Russells Hall Hospital,
England.