This image is of a histological section of an area of the intestinal wall and was stained with hematoxylin and eosin (HE).
The area at the right part of the image is occupied by a bundle of smooth muscle cells. These cells are fusiform, meaning spindle-shaped, and they are parallel to each other. In this figure, the long axes of the muscle cells stay mostly in an oblique position.
The left portion of the image is occupied by connective tissue. It consists of a large amount of collagen fibers, which are acellular (that is, non-cellular, and do not own nuclei) and they constitute a great part of the extracellular matrix in most tissues.
The nuclei of both tissues are stained purple by hematoxylin. Nuclei have many acidic groups in their nucleic acids and called basophilic structures.
The cells in this section can be recognized mainly by their nuclei. Observe that they are nicely arranged in the muscle layer but no so orderly arranged in the conective tissue.
Most of the nuclei of connective tissue cells stain much more than those of muscle tissue, being darker. These are also called dense chromatin nuclei. Nuclei that stain less, such as those of muscle cells, are called loose chromatin nuclei.
After placing the mouse or clicking on the image , the nuclei of both tissues become stained in dark blue. The cytoplasm of the smooth muscle cells becomes stained in light blue and the collagen fibers in pink-orange.
Small intestine. Hematoxylin and eosin. Medium magnification.
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