Staining of muscle tissue for quantitative studies and automated morphometry.

Seventy-six staining tests were carried out of paraffin sections of human and animal muscle to find a suitable staining method for quantitative morphometry of muscle fibers. The results were evaluated under the light microscope, on black and white photomicrographs and on an image analysing computer, the Quantimet 720.A brilliant scarlet-phosphotungstic acid-tartrazine method is described and recommended for automated morphometry after additional testing on 140 sections of developing human muscle using the Quantiment 720.