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Macroscopic brain gray matter staining: historical protocol overview and neuroanatomy learning applications in second-year medical students

Macroscopic staining in anatomical samples of the central nervous system is a technique that has been used for decades to achieve better differentiation of multiple gray matter structures, such as the cortex, basal ganglia, and cerebellar nuclei. Staining methods are based on using the different com...

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Autores principales: Villegas-Gomez, Gustavo Adolfo, Figueredo, Luisa F., Ramirez, A. D., Quiroga-Padilla, Pedro Jose, Rueda-Esteban, Roberto
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10470058/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37662477
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnana.2023.1227933
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author Villegas-Gomez, Gustavo Adolfo
Figueredo, Luisa F.
Ramirez, A. D.
Quiroga-Padilla, Pedro Jose
Rueda-Esteban, Roberto
author_facet Villegas-Gomez, Gustavo Adolfo
Figueredo, Luisa F.
Ramirez, A. D.
Quiroga-Padilla, Pedro Jose
Rueda-Esteban, Roberto
author_sort Villegas-Gomez, Gustavo Adolfo
collection PubMed
description Macroscopic staining in anatomical samples of the central nervous system is a technique that has been used for decades to achieve better differentiation of multiple gray matter structures, such as the cortex, basal ganglia, and cerebellar nuclei. Staining methods are based on using the different components of the brain, mainly the lipids present in the white matter. These techniques have been progressively forgotten while computer renderings are increasing; however, as a primary exposure to surgical anatomy, stained brain specimens are considered a helpful tool. We aim to summarize different staining techniques, their principles, and their current applications for neuroanatomy learning purposes. In total, four gray matter staining protocol descriptions (Mulligan's, Roberts's, Alston's, and Prussian Blue) were performed, as well as Likert scale surveys of second-year medical students about their perceptions of the stained sections. The results showed that the different macroscopic stains for brain tissue are based on lipid and reactant interactions, intending to increase the white matter (WM) and gray matter (GM) contrast. The search also showed that most staining protocols would take 2 days to develop. Efficient preservation options include submerging the sections in formaldehyde solutions, formaldehyde-free solutions, ethanol, or applying plastination techniques. Based on the student's perspective, the stained slices seem to be a valuable alternative to facilitate the study and identification of the basal ganglia and their relationships with the white matter (from 51.2 to 72% based on the Likert scale) compared with the non-stained sections. In conclusion, macroscopic staining of brain tissue continues to be a valuable tool for comprehensively studying the brain. Further research is needed to determine the efficacy of stained specimens as teaching tools.
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spelling pubmed-104700582023-09-01 Macroscopic brain gray matter staining: historical protocol overview and neuroanatomy learning applications in second-year medical students Villegas-Gomez, Gustavo Adolfo Figueredo, Luisa F. Ramirez, A. D. Quiroga-Padilla, Pedro Jose Rueda-Esteban, Roberto Front Neuroanat Neuroscience Macroscopic staining in anatomical samples of the central nervous system is a technique that has been used for decades to achieve better differentiation of multiple gray matter structures, such as the cortex, basal ganglia, and cerebellar nuclei. Staining methods are based on using the different components of the brain, mainly the lipids present in the white matter. These techniques have been progressively forgotten while computer renderings are increasing; however, as a primary exposure to surgical anatomy, stained brain specimens are considered a helpful tool. We aim to summarize different staining techniques, their principles, and their current applications for neuroanatomy learning purposes. In total, four gray matter staining protocol descriptions (Mulligan's, Roberts's, Alston's, and Prussian Blue) were performed, as well as Likert scale surveys of second-year medical students about their perceptions of the stained sections. The results showed that the different macroscopic stains for brain tissue are based on lipid and reactant interactions, intending to increase the white matter (WM) and gray matter (GM) contrast. The search also showed that most staining protocols would take 2 days to develop. Efficient preservation options include submerging the sections in formaldehyde solutions, formaldehyde-free solutions, ethanol, or applying plastination techniques. Based on the student's perspective, the stained slices seem to be a valuable alternative to facilitate the study and identification of the basal ganglia and their relationships with the white matter (from 51.2 to 72% based on the Likert scale) compared with the non-stained sections. In conclusion, macroscopic staining of brain tissue continues to be a valuable tool for comprehensively studying the brain. Further research is needed to determine the efficacy of stained specimens as teaching tools. Frontiers Media S.A. 2023-08-17 /pmc/articles/PMC10470058/ /pubmed/37662477 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnana.2023.1227933 Text en Copyright © 2023 Villegas-Gomez, Figueredo, Ramirez, Quiroga-Padilla and Rueda-Esteban. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Neuroscience
Villegas-Gomez, Gustavo Adolfo
Figueredo, Luisa F.
Ramirez, A. D.
Quiroga-Padilla, Pedro Jose
Rueda-Esteban, Roberto
Macroscopic brain gray matter staining: historical protocol overview and neuroanatomy learning applications in second-year medical students
title Macroscopic brain gray matter staining: historical protocol overview and neuroanatomy learning applications in second-year medical students
title_full Macroscopic brain gray matter staining: historical protocol overview and neuroanatomy learning applications in second-year medical students
title_fullStr Macroscopic brain gray matter staining: historical protocol overview and neuroanatomy learning applications in second-year medical students
title_full_unstemmed Macroscopic brain gray matter staining: historical protocol overview and neuroanatomy learning applications in second-year medical students
title_short Macroscopic brain gray matter staining: historical protocol overview and neuroanatomy learning applications in second-year medical students
title_sort macroscopic brain gray matter staining: historical protocol overview and neuroanatomy learning applications in second-year medical students
topic Neuroscience
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10470058/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37662477
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnana.2023.1227933
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