Gram Staining Procedure
Doctors often want to determine what type of bacteria is present in a patient who has an infection. Aside from other tests, experts use gram staining procedure as one of the techniques to differentiate bacteria according to their cell wall characteristics. It involves using a dye to see which bacteria retain either color (violet or red) in their cell walls.
The importance of using the gram staining procedure is related to the choice of treatment for the patient. Here is some information about it.
Part 1: How Is the Gram Staining Procedure Performed?
1. Prepare the glass microscopic slide. To make sure that your slides are grease/oil-free, wash them using soap and water. Wipe slides with alcohol. This will remove any …show more content…
However, when washed with alcohol, bacteria with thicker cell walls containing peptidoglycans tend to retain these molecules and remain violet in color, thus they are called Gram-positive bacteria. On the other hand, the dye is washed away from bacteria with thinner cell walls, and these are considered Gram-negative. The latter do not become colorless, but pink when counterstained with safranin.
Part 3: When to Apply Gram Staining
Gram staining procedure is used to determine if bacteria are Gram-positive or Gram-negative. This is usually the first step in the process of identifying bacteria that are present in cultures.
This procedure is important in giving a clue to the diagnosis in people with infectious diseases. It also helps in the estimation of the total count of the bacteria.
Doctors can make an empirical choice on the type of antibiotics they may prescribe to a patient, based on the results of the Gram staining procedure.
The choice of a culture media to be used for inoculation can also be made empirically based on the Gram stain report.
3. Snippet
Gram staining procedure plays an important role in the initial identification of certain bacteria and may be used to make an empirical choice of antibiotics for a patient with an
Doctors often want to determine what type of bacteria is present in a patient who has an infection. Aside from other tests, experts use gram staining procedure as one of the techniques to differentiate bacteria according to their cell wall characteristics. It involves using a dye to see which bacteria retain either color (violet or red) in their cell walls.
The importance of using the gram staining procedure is related to the choice of treatment for the patient. Here is some information about it.
Part 1: How Is the Gram Staining Procedure Performed?
1. Prepare the glass microscopic slide. To make sure that your slides are grease/oil-free, wash them using soap and water. Wipe slides with alcohol. This will remove any …show more content…
However, when washed with alcohol, bacteria with thicker cell walls containing peptidoglycans tend to retain these molecules and remain violet in color, thus they are called Gram-positive bacteria. On the other hand, the dye is washed away from bacteria with thinner cell walls, and these are considered Gram-negative. The latter do not become colorless, but pink when counterstained with safranin.
Part 3: When to Apply Gram Staining
Gram staining procedure is used to determine if bacteria are Gram-positive or Gram-negative. This is usually the first step in the process of identifying bacteria that are present in cultures.
This procedure is important in giving a clue to the diagnosis in people with infectious diseases. It also helps in the estimation of the total count of the bacteria.
Doctors can make an empirical choice on the type of antibiotics they may prescribe to a patient, based on the results of the Gram staining procedure.
The choice of a culture media to be used for inoculation can also be made empirically based on the Gram stain report.
3. Snippet
Gram staining procedure plays an important role in the initial identification of certain bacteria and may be used to make an empirical choice of antibiotics for a patient with an