Luxol Fast Blue staining in corticospinal tract of rats

Objective: To explore the special staining method for revealing the localization of corticospinal tract in rats. Methods: Luxol Fast Blue staining method was utilized to stain the sections of medulla oblongta and spinal cord of the normal adult Sprague-Dawley rats. Results: In Luxol Fast Blue staining sections, the gray matter of medulla oblongta and spinal cord was stained in light red, while the white matter around the gray matter was dyed in blue. The dark blue stained Luxol Fast Blue labeled fibers in the pyramid passed through the pyramidal decussation to the contralateral side, descended at the ventral part of posterior funiculus just dorsal to the gray commissure throughout most of the length of the spinal cord and progressively diminished to end at the sacral spinal segments. The Luxol Fast Blue positive fibers in the pyramid and the ventral part of posterior funiculus at cervical, thoracic, lumbar spinal segments were easily discriminated from the surrounding structures. Conclusion: Using Luxol Fast Blue staining method may demonstrate the localization and distribution of corticospinal tract in the spinal cord of rats, which is an easy and effective method in morphological study of corticospinal tract.