Qualitative Comparison of Various Stains to Assess the Tinctorial Properties of Collagen in Oral Submucous Fibrosis (OSMF)

Oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF), a precancerous condition of the oral cavity, characterized by progressive and excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix collagen. The condition is characterized by mucosal rigidity of varied intensity caused by fibrosis of the superficial connective tissue and leading to secondary atrophic or hypoplastic changes in the epithelium. It has been discovered that exposure of buccal mucosal fibroblasts to alkaloids may cause aggregation of collagen. The present study was undertaken to know the effect of H&E, Van Gieson and Masson trichome stain on the collagen fibers of OSMF. The staining reactions of the above three stains will be evaluated to know which stains collagen fibers best in light microscopy. Histological confirmed cases of OSMF would be selected from the archives of department of oral pathology of our college from last five years and will be analyzed. Three sections will be prepared for each case and will be stained by H&E, van Gieson and Masson trichome stain respectively. All three slides were be evaluated for the histological pattern of the collagen fibres.