Gram Stain

Hans Christian Gram was a Danish doctor working in Berlin during the Golden Age of Microbiology. The staining procedure named after him, the Gram stain, was published in 1884. It is the most commonly used technique in microbiology. The music is a reminder of the fact that a Gram stain is one part science and two parts art and practice. To this day, we don't understand how it actually works. Notice that the demonstrator is left handed. Most lab instructions are oblivious of that simple fact, and directions are for the right handed only.

I drew a flow chart of the Gram stain in Adobe Illustrator for my students. I recommend laminating your copy.