hematoxylin

1. (medicine, organic chemistry) A phenolic compound having the chemical formula C₁₆H₁₄O₆, used (most often in conjunction with eosin) to make dye for staining tissue samples; extracted from the heart of bloodwood trees (Haematoxylum campechianum).Examples: "Histology sections were cut at 5–6 µm on a rotary microtome, mounted on glass slides, and stained with Harris’s haematoxylin and eosin in a Stainomatic specimen stainer."; "The stains used were hematoxylin and eosin (H&E), Masson's trichrome, and Verhoeff's stain. Sections stained with hematoxylin and eosin have nuclei that were stained blue, cartilage and calcium deposits stained dark blue, cytoplasm and other constituents stained shades of red, and blood stained bright red."; "For overall morphology, sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) to measure mean fiber area."countableuncountable