Assessing Cerebral Infarctions in a Rat Brain Using Hematoxylin and Eosin Staining

Take chemically-fixed, paraffin-embedded brain sections from a rat with cerebral infarction, where restricted blood flow causes cell death in the affected region.

Immerse the tissue in xylene to dissolve the paraffin.

Submerge the tissue in absolute alcohol to remove residual xylene.

Hydrate the tissue by passing it through decreasing alcohol concentrations.

Rinse the tissue with water to eliminate residual alcohol.

Apply hematoxylin, a basic dye that binds to DNA, staining nuclei purple.

Rinse with water and acid alcohol to remove excess hematoxylin.

Rinse with an alkaline solution to turn the nuclear stain blue.

Apply eosin, an acidic dye that stains positively charged cytoplasmic and extracellular matrix proteins pink.

Dehydrate the tissue using increasing alcohol concentrations.

Immerse the tissue in xylene to clear it, then mount and visualize under a microscope.

Control areas appear pink with blue nuclei, while infarcted areas appear pale due to insufficient staining caused by cell death.