Golgi's method

A human neocortical pyramidal neuron stained via Golgi technique. Notice the apical dendrite extending vertically above the soma and the numerous basal dendrites radiating laterally from the base of the cell body. Photo by Bob Jacobs, Colorado College.

Drawing by Camillo Golgi of a hippocampus stained with the silver nitrate method

Drawing of a Purkinje cell in the cerebellum cortex done by Santiago Ramón y Cajal, clearly demonstrating the power of Golgi's staining method to reveal fine detail

Golgi's method is a silver staining technique that is used to visualize nervous tissue under light microscopy. The method was discovered by Camillo Golgi, an Italian physician and scientist, who published the first picture made with the technique in 1873. It was initially named the black reaction (la reazione nera) by Golgi, but it became better known as the Golgi stain or later, Golgi method. Golgi discovered this by introducing potassium and sodium into a chicken embryo.

Golgi staining was used by Spanish neuroanatomist Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852–1934) to discover a number of novel facts about the organization of the nervous system, inspiring the birth of the neuron doctrine. Ultimately, Ramón y Cajal improved the technique by using a method he termed "double impregnation". Ramón y Cajal's staining technique, still in use, is called Cajal's stain.