Wright Staining

Wright's stain is used to differentiate blood cell types in histological examinations. Air-dried blood smears are dipped in undiluted stain for few seconds and then immersed in deionized water to remove excessive stain followed by microscopy. Erythrocytes color yellowish red, neutrophils show reddish lilac granules and pale pink cytoplasm, eosinophils show blue nucei and orange-red granules, basophils show dark-blue to purple nuclei and dark purple granules, whereas lymphocytes appear dark purple in the nuclei with sky blue cytoplasm. It is primarily used to stain peripheral blood smears and bone marrow aspirates and is also employed in cytogenetics to stain chromosomes and facilitate in the diagnosis syndromes and diseases. (Credit: Muhammad Atif Khan)