Figure 8:

Light micrographs of dermal flaps cut in cross section. (A) Mallory’s triple connective tissue stain. The dermal flap is composed of stratified cuboidal epithelial cells; note the nerve bundle passing through the scale (arrow). Epithelial cells and nerve bundle, pink; scales, blue and orange; collagen, blue; melanophores, dark brown. (B-C) Bielschowsky’s silver and Van Gieson’s stain. C is a high magnification view of the nerve bundle passing through the scale in B (arrows). Nerve bundle connects to fibers beneath the collagen layer. Epithelial cells and nerve bundle, light pink; scales, red and purple; nerves, pink and black; melanophores, dark brown/black; collagen, bright pink. (D-E) Two samples decalcified in Evans and Krajian fluid. (D) Weigert’s hematoxylin and Mallory’s 2 (orange G and aniline blue) stains. A nerve runs through the middle of the dermal flap (see inset). Nuclei of epithelial cells, dark purple; nerve bundle, light purple; scale and spinule, bright blue; collagen, bright blue. (E) Müller’s colloidal iron and Van Gieson’s stains. Epithelial cells are wrapped in mucopolysaccharide-rich connective tissue (blue); spinule, scale and collagen, bright pink. White arrow in D indicates attachment point between collagen and scale. Abbreviations: collagen (coll); dermal flap (df); keratinocyte (ker); melanophore (mel); nerve (n); scale (sc); spinule, (sp). Scale bars: 100μm; inset in D, 10μm.