Leishman stain

Leishman's stain, also Leishman stain, is used in microscopy for staining blood smears. It provides excellent stain quality. It is generally used to differentiate and identify leucocytes, malaria parasites, and trypanosomas. It is based on a mixture of methylene blue and eosin.

Leishman stain uses a methanol solution of staining dyes. 7-10 drops is applied to the slide with the specimen. After 20 seconds, 10-15 drops of a buffer solution (a Gurr buffer is used, pH 6.8) is added and mixed with the stain, then the specimen is left staying for 20-30 minutes, then washed off with the buffer solution.

Leishman stain is named after its inventor, the Scottish pathologist William Boog Leishman. It is similar to and partially replaceable with Giemsa stain, Jenner's stain, and identical to Wright's stain. Like them, it is a version of Romanowsky stain.