Basophilia

БАЗОФИЛИЯ (from Greek basis- foundation and philia- love), the ability inherent in cell bodies, inclusions of some cells, as well as intercellular substances to perceive from a mixture of acidic and basic dyes the basic dye selectively. The degree of basophilia can be very different: from a barely noticeable light tone (Giemsa) to an intense one (see Basophil). Basophilic granularity is observed in leukocytes and some tissue cells, for example, in connective tissue cells (Mast cells). In the latter, the number of grains is either very large or completely unnoticeable, i.e., granularity appears periodically; one can sometimes see that around a cell with basophilic granularity there is a diffuse band, also stained with the basic dye, but with a metachromatic shade: obviously, the grains formed in the cell undergo further transformations, and their substance, becoming more liquid, passes into the intercellular spaces; thus, these cells possess a certain excretory function. For staining basophilic granularity, methylene blue with its derivatives, as well as toluidine blue, safranin, thionin, and other basic dyes are used.