H&E Stain of an Anaplastic Astro

Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) is the most commonly used stain in neuropathology. Although many diagnoses require special stains, there are features that show up on H&E which can guide the decision to make subsequent stains. Often, there are features of a disease which are visible on H&E, such as the astrocytoma cells arranged in "pencil bundles" seen on this brain specimen.