Application of a modified Attwood's stain to the study of decalcified bone sections.

Using routine histological procedures, it is difficult to distinguish osteoid from calcified bone and woven from lamellar bone in decalcified preparations of bone. Although several alternatives are available to overcome the first difficulty, differential staining of woven and lamellar bone has not been described. In 1958, Attwood modified Lendrum's (1947) phloxine-tartrazine stain to identify fetal amniotic squames in maternal pulmonary vessels. During a study of the organisation of amniotic debris in the middle ear cavity of newborn infants (deSa, 1977) it was noted that the osseous components of the middle ear and the petrous temporal bone were staining in an irregular fashion. By examination of the sections with polarised light it was seen that the 'lamellar' bone stained selectively with phloxine. It was decided to investigate this phenomenon further.