What is the common frozen section stain?

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Rapid intraoperative assessment relies on a stain that works quickly on unfixed tissue. Toluidine blue is a convenient choice for frozen sections because it can be applied directly to cryostat tissue and provides clear nuclear and cytoplasmic contrast in minutes. This fast, straightforward staining helps the pathologist evaluate general architecture and margins without the longer processing steps required for paraffin sections. By staining acidic components like nucleic acids and some tissue matrix, it delivers enough detail to distinguish normal from abnormal tissue quickly. In comparison, hematoxylin and eosin, while standard for paraffin-embedded samples, takes longer on frozen tissue; Gram stain targets bacteria; Oil Red O is specialized for lipids and isn’t the routine quick stain for general histology on frozen sections.