Visualization of fungi in histological sections.

Deparaffinized kidney sections from mice infected with Candida albicans and lung sections from mice infected with Blastomyces dermatitides were stained with the stilbene derivative, Uvitex 2B (1%), and counterstained with haemalum and eosin. Fungi selectively stained with Uvitex 2B are visualized by blue fluorescence under incident illumination with ultraviolet light. Simultaneous or consecutive illumination with transmitted light permits the assignment of fluorescent fungi to haemalum-eosin-stained structures in the section. The most practical means of achieving a high optical contrast with Uvitex 2B in sections and good haemalum-eosin staining is to use the established haemalum-eosin technique, but with a solution containing both 1% eosin and 1% Uvitex 2B in place of eosin alone. Since Uvitex 2B stains all fungi investigated so far, it affords a simple, sensitive and inexpensive method of selectively detecting opportunistic fungal infections in conventional histopathology.