What Does a Nissl Stain Tell You? Choose All That

Question

What does a Nissl stain tell you? Choose all that apply.
A) The location of neurons and glia
B) The location of fiber tracts (axons)
C) The connectivity between two neurons
D) The identity of a neuron's neurotransmitter
E) The location of cell nuclei

Accepted Answer

Nissl stains rough ER and therefore stains neurons and glia. Nissl does not stain fiber tracts so the axons can be seen as the non-stained regions. Nissl does not stain nuclei; there are several nuclear stains for that. Nissl does not show connectivity, just location. To identify a neuron’s neurotransmitter the neurotransmitter or its precursor must be stained.