{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.staining","code":"thing-q2332446","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q2332446/","name":"staining","alternateNames":["antibody staining","immunostaining","Luxol fast blue periodic acid-Schiff stain","acid-fast staining","Ag-NOR staining","fluorescence staining","Weigert's elastic stain","enzyme staining","periodic acid-Schiff stain","Mallory's trichrome stain","Wheatley's trichrome stain","Romanowsky type stains"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.3","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Activities and processes","entryKind":"thing","plane":"ACT","domain":["ACT.ACT"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A laboratory technique that applies dyes, pigments, metals or labelled molecules to biological specimens so that cells, tissues, organisms or molecules become visible or distinguishable under a microscope, including histological stains such as haematoxylin and eosin, special stains such as acid-fast and Luxol fast blue, silver methods such as Ag-NOR staining, and immunostaining and fluorescence staining with antibodies and probes.","purpose":"Let an agent explain staining as a technique, identify kinds and their targets, relay protocols and standards in general terms from laboratory references, and distinguish staining from other visualisation methods.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Contrast by binding","Specific and general stains","Diagnostic and research use","Standardised protocols"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What staining is.","layers":[{"id":"principle","name":"Principle","description":"Principles.","findings":[{"id":"principle-finding","name":"Principle","description":"Principle.","questions":[{"text":"How does staining create contrast, and what determines specificity?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the question about laboratory staining or another sense of the word?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"kinds","name":"Kinds","description":"Kinds of stain.","findings":[{"id":"kinds-finding","name":"Kinds","description":"Kinds.","questions":[{"text":"What kinds of stain exist, and what does each target?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific stain?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"practice","name":"Practice","description":"Protocols and quality.","layers":[{"id":"protocols","name":"Protocols","description":"Protocols.","findings":[{"id":"protocols-finding","name":"Protocols","description":"Protocols.","questions":[{"text":"How are staining protocols performed and optimised, in general terms?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"quality","name":"Quality","description":"Quality control.","findings":[{"id":"quality-finding","name":"Quality","description":"Quality.","questions":[{"text":"How are controls and accreditation used to ensure reliable staining?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits laboratory quality control?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"apply","name":"Apply","description":"Applications.","layers":[{"id":"diagnosis","name":"Diagnosis","description":"Diagnostic use.","findings":[{"id":"diagnosis-finding","name":"Diagnosis","description":"Diagnosis.","questions":[{"text":"How are stains used in pathology and microbiology diagnosis?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the user asking about a personal result, which needs a clinician?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"research","name":"Research","description":"Research use.","findings":[{"id":"research-finding","name":"Research","description":"Research.","questions":[{"text":"How are immunostaining and fluorescence staining used in research?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits immunohistochemistry?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"History and safety.","layers":[{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"History.","findings":[{"id":"history-finding","name":"History","description":"History.","questions":[{"text":"How did staining develop from early dyes to Gram, Golgi and modern methods?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits the history of histology?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"safety","name":"Safety","description":"Safety.","findings":[{"id":"safety-finding","name":"Safety","description":"Safety.","questions":[{"text":"What hazards do staining reagents present, and how are they managed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Describe staining techniques and what each reveals in a specimen.","Record stain batches, controls and protocols in a laboratory information system it is authorized to use.","Flag possible artefacts in a stained slide for review by a qualified person."],"mustNot":["Report a diagnosis from a stained slide without review by a qualified pathologist.","Run staining without positive and negative controls when results are used clinically.","Dispose of toxic staining reagents down the drain.","Alter images of stained specimens without disclosure."],"requiresHuman":["Releasing a clinical result based on staining."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Stains guide cancer and infection diagnoses; false results harm patients.","Some reagents are toxic to laboratory staff and the environment."],"affectedParties":["Patients","Laboratory staff","Researchers"]},"owners":{"steward":"The laboratory that performs it, under its accreditation body.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q104637425","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q104637564","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q3247516","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"lab technique","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"histological assay","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"microscopy","type":"related","note":"the observation method"},{"target":"Gram stain","type":"related","note":"a classic example"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.staining","Wikidata: Q2332446 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2332446)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":[]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["Dye, metal or label applied to specimens for contrast","Histological, microbiological, immuno and fluorescence stains","Unstained phase contrast and electron microscopy contrast differ; tissue staining in dentistry and textile dyeing are other senses","Coloured or fluorescent specimens on slides, viewed under a microscope."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain principles and kinds","identify stains and their targets","relay standards and quality control","distinguish from other methods"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Artefacts and false results","Toxic reagents","Batch variation without controls"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Laboratory accreditation standards such as ISO 15189","Quality control schemes for histology and immunohistochemistry","Chemical safety for dyes and fixatives"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Making biological structures visible for microscopy and diagnosis.","general histological stains such as haematoxylin and eosin","special stains such as acid-fast, PAS and Luxol fast blue","silver and metal stains such as Ag-NOR","microbiological stains such as Gram stain","immunostaining and immunohistochemistry","fluorescence staining and live-cell dyes"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q2332446: staining","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2332446","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Staining","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staining","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should immunostaining and each classic stain be separate entries?","How should protocol references be linked?","The registry entry has merged aliases naming specific stains; should they be split off?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q2332446/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q2332446/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-12T22:38:08Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-06T19:51:57+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane ACT: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}