HISTOLOGY - help with identifying connective tissue

[annakarenina]

These are microphotographs all from the same tissue sample. Im pretty sure the stain is a Trichrome..possibly Mallorys. Anyway I've been pulling my hair out over the last week trying to identify this.

So far I think it is definately some sort of connective tissue. but I have no idea where from. I'm pretty sure those granulated cells are Mast cells and the reason they are that colour is because Mast Cells have an absorbance change (metachromasia) when they react with basic dyes and turn from blue to pink/purple etc. SOme people have told me mucosa but there is no epithelium layer of cells at the top...and also none of the layers that are apparent in mucosa. its all higgeldy piggeldy.

any feedback anyone at all can give me would be greatly appreciated I am going INSANE with this hey.

[annakarenina]

Sorry to double post but here is the same tissue sample..just different stain
pretty sure its H&E.

[Dr.Stein]

It looks like an ovarium to me but I am not sure. However we can see that it is obviously a loose connective tissue but we are not sure from which organ

I don't think that those white circles are adipose. They are definitely too big for a single fat cell and as far as I know, adipose tissues are arranged tightly with somewhat similar size of their cells to create "group" structure. It seems like a follicle instead of adipose to me. Could be any follicles, not just egg follicle but a "big nucleus" inside could support this

What you think as mast cells, I think they are rather blood vessels which cut transversally thus show their RBCs content.

When I look at your HE photomicrographs (Yes, I believe that's HE), I am sure that the big white circle is follicle, but yet again, I am not sure which one. And your "mast cell" is clearly seen here as blod vessel

For the #2 figure, we found some tubulur structures. I think they are big/medium blood vessels. The ones with thick walls are artery or arteriole, whereas the thin-walled ones must be vein or venules.

Could you provide more image, please? I like analyzing this way. I don't care whether I am right or wrong but it helps me much to improve my ability to identify histological structure. One of my fav puzzle

[annakarenina]

I certainly can i am desperate for some help!

how do you know its definately loose connective tissue? the only reason I think its not ovarian tissue is because there is NO epithelium that i can see at all like no layer of cells at the top
just a keratin layer....

thank you very much for your help

ALso...do you think this is a trichrome stain? I do...pretty sure its Mallorys

[annakarenina]

any ideas to what those long, thick, stringy white bits are that you can see everywhere in the last picture. just spaces where the collagen has shrunk during preparation maybe?

[Dr.Stein]

I think we have loose connective tissue here and there. The structure shows wide collagen sheets with some mast cells and blood vessels. And, the purple structure seems like bundles of skeletal muscles. The "button" of the lower pic seems like a cartilaginean structure. It would be better if you can provide a detail of that structure.

[annakarenina]

yeah unfortuantely i wasnt given a higher power view of it.!!!! sorry about that

Sorry just a few questions....

I thought the button (you mean the round shaped thing with cells around it) was an artery??

And when you talk about the purple structure being bundles of skeletal muscle....Which purple structure are you talking about>>>???? sorry if that is a stupid question!

Which ones do you think are the mast cells? the smaller, granulated structures?? It's just before you said they were blood vessels with the blood cells evident within them because they had been cut transversally.....

Im thinking this might be ovarian tissue as well what do you think?

Sorry about all these questions its just I'm at a loss with this thing I've been studying it for three days and every time i think ive got somewhere i lose it again

thanks for your help hey I appreciate it a lot!!!!

Anna

[annakarenina]

here is what I think I have figured out so far... (click for larger image so you can read the text sorry!)

[Dr.Stein]

This is my version. Feel free to correct, this is my humble opinion

EDIT: for the second pic, it is not "skeletal muscle" but "smooth muscle"

[Dr.Stein]

I think small red things you labelled as "mast cells/granulocytes" are not correct. For mast cells, they are too big. Mast cells are the tiny dots locate in the inner part. Granulocytes NEVER reside inside organ, they stay in blood vessels to circulate.

[annakarenina]

thank you so very much for your help//

what do you think about where the fibroblasts are??? and how would i differentiate between the fibroblasts and the mast cells seeing as they are both so small

also do you think that top layer is an epithelium???

i kind of think there is dense connective tissue as well as loose but not sure.
i hate histology

again..thank you. you have been a big help