Acridine orange staining of urethral and cervical smears for the diagnosis of gonorrhea.

Smears of urethral and cervical discharge for direct microscopical examination of gonococci were stained with acridine orange and methylene blue and the findings compared with culture of direct inoculated plates. These two staining methods yielded similar results. Acridine orange staining seems a valuable alternative due to its sharp image contrast.