The Demonstration of Canaluculi in Sections of Decalcified Bone by a Silver Impregnation Method

Abstract

Chromogenic techniques such as the picro-thionin (Humason 1972) and Giemsa methods are notoriously capricious for demonstrating bone canaliculi. Their success depends to a large extent on the quality of the dyes used — or lack of it —and the skill of the dyer. Ground sections of bone, while giving a reasonable demonstration of the canalicular system, are tedious and time-consuming to prepare. the silver impregnation method described here demonstrates bone lacunae and canaliculi clearly and fairly rapidly in routinely prepared frozen or paraffin sections.