CAMLPR Histology Practice Test

In the Wade-Fite stain, deparaffinization uses a peanut oil pre-treatment followed by xylene to thoroughly clear the tissue. The peanut oil gently dissolves the paraffin without aggressively extracting lipids that are important for preserving acid-fast organisms, and then two xylene baths remove the oil and any remaining paraffin residue to prepare the section for staining. Ethanol or water cannot remove paraffin, and xylene alone wouldn’t provide the gentler initial deparaffinization that helps maintain the integrity of the organisms being targeted.