Journal of Pediatric Surgery 1993-07-01

A simple and rapid method for staining the enteric ganglia: application for Hirschsprung's disease.

M Hanani, R Udassin, I Ariel, H R Freund

Index: J. Pediatr. Surg. 28(7) , 939-41, (1993)

Full Text: HTML

Abstract

A simple and reliable method is described for staining the nerve plexuses of the human gastrointestinal tract in whole-mounts. The staining does not require fixation and consists of a single step of 6 to 10 minutes incubation in a solution of the fluorescent dye 4-(4-diethylaminostyryl)-methylpyridinium iodide. Aganglionic bowel specimens from 6 patients with Hirschsprung's disease were stained by this method and displayed the absence of ganglion cells and an abundance of nerve fibers in the myenteric and submucosal plexuses. This staining may be suitable for the diagnosis of Hirschsprung's disease.