Masson's Trichrome staining involves three main dyes: a cytoplasmic stain, a collagen stain, and a nuclear stain. Typically, the process starts with a tissue fixation step, followed by staining with hematoxylin to highlight nuclei. The tissue is then stained with a second dye to color the cytoplasm, often using an acid fuchsin or a similar red dye, and finally treated with a third dye, such as aniline blue or light green, to color collagen fibers. This results in collagen appearing blue or green, muscle and cytoplasm appearing red, and nuclei appearing black.
