The online course is designed to educate students on the various specials stains routinely used within histology. It is an essential part of the job to be aware of which stain can be used on a certain type of tissue in order to observe key elements and diagnose conditions.
For example, a scientist may perform a PAS stain on a section of a liver where the section will highlight the PAS positive architecture. Based on this section a pathologist/scientist can make an accurate diagnosis which can include glycogen disorders, infections and even some cancers.
Band 4 members of the histology laboratory routinely carry out these stains independently and should be aware of rationales of procedures.