Ziehl-Neelsen stain
Acid-fast technique
Ziehl-Neelsen stain is a laboratory technique for identifying acid-fast bacteria, particularly those causing tuberculosis and leprosy.
The method uses heated carbol fuchsin dye, which penetrates waxy bacterial cell walls and resists decolorization with acid-alcohol—hence "acid-fast." Cells that retain the red stain against a blue counterstain are positive: The Ziehl-Neelsen stain confirmed mycobacteria in the sputum sample.
- bacilliCylindrical bacteria
- caseous necrosisCheese-textured tissue destruction
- tuberculosisMycobacterial lung disease
- Koch's bacillusTuberculosis-causing microorganism
- decolorizationRemoval of pigment
mycobacteria · Pott's disease · sputum · counterstain · microscopy · histopathology · leprosy · lung · red · pink · smear · infection · heat · Koch · resistant · slide · waxy · laboratory
- Lab Stainsalcian blue, carmine, India ink, Prussian blue, gentian violet
- TB testingTB test, TB skin test, tuberculin, smear test, active TB
- Mycobacteriamycobacteria, mycobacterium, Mycobacterium leprae, MAC, TB