If you want practical information on how to use this book please refer to "Note to the Readers" p. VII. Histochemistry and cytochemistry are essential tools in biomedical research and routine service laboratories. Most texts on histochemistry fall into one of two categories: 1. Encyclopaedic texts covering all or nearly all information available on the whole or selected parts of histochemistry. 2. Reviews or surveys of methods found to be useful by the author(s). While the former category often appeals to the more philosophically inclined reader, direct guidance on the selection of technique may be difficult to find. In contrast, the latter category are often excellent sources for details on how to perform a particular method with a reasonable chance of success. Consideration of the exact mechanism of staining, of possible reasons for failure, and of alternative techniques are, however, frequently lacking. This book is an introduction to the scientific basis of histochemistry and is intended to provide a background for the selection and development of appro priate methods. It is not a "cook book" and readers expecting exhaustive methodological descriptions will be disappointed. Although most ofthe contributors to this book would not describe themselves as histochemists, they have all at some time found it essential to develop a basic understanding of histochemistry. This book contains the information they would have greatly appreciated ready access to at that time.

1: General Considerations

1 The Scope of Histochemistry
2 The Structural and Chemical Basis for Histochemistry
3 Reagents
2: Review of Techniques According to Mechanism
4 General Theory for Tissue Staining
5 Blocking and Deblocking Reactions
6 Staining of Macromolecules on the Basis of Charge
7 Staining Involving Metal Complex Dyes
8 Staining Based on Reductants and Oxidants
9 Staining Involving Covalent Bonds
3: Tissue Processing
10 Tissue Processing I: Overview
11 Tissue Processing II: Freezing
12 Tissue Processing III: Fixation, General Aspects
13 Tissue Processing IV: Applied Fixation
14 Tissue Processing V: Embedding
15 Tissue Processing VI: Hard Tissues
16 Tissue Processing VII: Post Treatment
4: The Staining of Chemical Entities
17 Metals and Metal Salts
18 Pigments
19 Lipids
20 Nucleic Acids
21 Proteins
22 Carbohydrates
5: Enzyme Histochemistry
23 Enzyme Histochemistry I. General Considerations
24 Enzyme Histochemistry II. Hydrolases
25 Enzyme Histochemistry III. Oxidoreductases
6: Other Techniques
26 Immunohistochemistry
27 Ultrastructural Cytochemistry and Immunocytochemistry
28 Quantitation in Histochemistry
29 Autoradiography
30 Fluorescence Microscopic Methods in Histochemistry
7: An Introduction to Applied Histochemistry
31 Applied Histochemistry - An Overview
32 Applied Immunohistochemistry
Appendix A: Standardization of Staining Methods
A.I General Considerations
A.2 Examples of Staining Methods
Appendix B: Quantitative Methods in Microscopy
B.I Definitions
B.2 Observations
B.3 Stereology
B.4 Special Stereological Tools
B.5 Simple "Counting" Procedures
B.6 Manipulating Digital Images
B.7 Applications of Stereology in Pathology
References
Index ofConstituents
Index of Dyes
Index of Methods.