The Golgi Method

Abstract

Silver staining by the Golgi method is a classical procedure to identify the three-dimensional morphology of individual neurons. Although the method was developed in the 1870s, it is still used to study the morphological characteristics of neuron types in the central nervous system, either alone or in combination with other neuroanatomical techniques. The neuropil of insects is fully accessible to the original refractive staining procedure, and modifications of the Golgi technique have paved the path for modern structural research on the insect central nervous system. Here, we provide an introduction to this easy and low-cost method.