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A widely applied stain in bacteriology that is used to identify organisms that can retain a dye on washing with acid alcohol. One technique is to stain a bacterial smear withhot carbol fuchsin and, after rinsing with water, expose the smear to concentrated hydrochloric acid dissolved in water or ethanol. Following a second rinsing, the smear is counterstained with methylene blue. Acid-fast organisms retain the red colour of the carbol fuchsin while other organisms appear blue. Examples of acid-fast bacteria are species of the genus Mycobacterium.
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