A staining technique used to classify bacteria in which a bacterial specimen is first stained with crystal violet, then treated with an iodine solution, decolorized with alcohol, and counterstained with safranin. Because of differences in cell wall structure, gram-positive bacteria retain the violet...
a method for the differential staining of bacteria, proposed in 1884 by the Danish physician H. C. Gram. In Gram’s method the bacteria are stained with basic dyes, including crystal or methyl violet, which are then fixed in an iodine solution. After rinsing the dyed preparation in alcohol...
Gram's stain laboratory staining technique that distinguishes between two groups of bacteria by the identification of differences in the structure of their cell walls. The Gram stain, named after its developer, Danish bacteriologist Christian Gram, has become an important tool in bacterial taxonomy, ...
Twitter Google Share on Facebook Also found in:Thesaurus,Encyclopedia. Gram's′ meth′od (græmz) n. (sometimes l.c.) a method of characterizing bacteria that involves staining a slide of fixed specimens with gentian violet, washing with alcohol, and applying a counterstain. ...