Pappenheim stain is a combination of May-Grünwald and Giemsa stains. They are the stains generally used for blood smears.
| Structures | Colour |
|---|---|
| Nuclei | reddish-violet |
| Neutrophilic granules | bluish-pink to brownish |
| Eosinophilic granules | brick-red to brown-orange |
| Basophilic granules | dark blue-violet |
| Lymphocytic cytoplasm | light blue |
| Monocytic cytoplasm | light blue |
| Erythrocytes | pink |
| Thrombocytes | blue with red-violet internal bodies |
The May-Grünwald stain contains the dyes eosin and methylene blue.
The Giemsa stain contains the dyes eosin, methylene blue, methylene azure and methylene violet.
