Von Kossa and his staining technique

One hundred and twenty years ago, the Hungarian physician Julius von Kossa developed a now classical staining method for detecting mineral deposits in animal tissues. Since then, this method has been widely adapted and combined with different counterstains, but still bears the name of its original inventor, who, if alive, would have turned 150 in 2015. As a rather inexpensive technique that does not require special instrumentation, von Kossa’s staining method became extremely popular for demonstrating mineralized tissues in vivo and in vitro. This article pays tribute to von Kossa and to his handy staining method.