Mast Cells, Mediators and Disease

In 1879 Paul Ehrlich first described the mast cell as a tissue fixed cell contain­ ing many granules which, when stained with basic dyes, such as toluidine blue, changed the colour spectrum of the dye in a process called meta­ chromasia. Since this early description, pathologists, physicians and pharmacologists have been fascinated by this cell on account of its central involvement in human allerg...