Intravenous Methylene Blue: a New Method for Studying the Nervous System

Abstract

IN 1886, Ehrlich¹ obtained striking results by the use of methylene blue as a stain for the nervous system. Of the many methods since developed for utilizing the staining properties of methylene blue perhaps the simplest and most reliable is the local injection technique of Weddell et al.². The two main disadvantages of this method are the inevitable distortion of the tissue by the direct injection of the staining fluid and the limitation of the size of the region stained. Both objections may be overcome by continuously perfusing methylene blue into the veins of a living animal, conditions being so arranged that the animal survives for an extended period. The details of the technique are being published in full elsewhere³, but the results obtained are so consistent that it was felt worth while to point out some of the possibilities of the method.