Gram's method

Gram's method  (grmz)

n.

A staining technique used to classify bacteria in which a bacterial specimen is first stained with crystal violet, then treated with an iodine solution, decolorized with alcohol, and counterstained with safranine. Gram-positive bacteria retain the violet stain; gram-negative bacteria do not.

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[After Hans Christian Joachim Gram (1853-1938), Danish physician.]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

Gram's method - a staining technique used to classify bacteria; bacteria are stained with gentian violet and then treated with Gram's solution; after being decolorized with alcohol and treated with safranine and washed in water, those that retain the gentian violet are Gram-positive and those that do not retain it are Gram-negative Gram method, Gram stain, Gram's procedure, Gram's stain staining - (histology) the use of a dye to color specimens for microscopic study