Which type of stain is used to reveal special structures like spores and capsules?

The correct response is special stain because it is specifically designed to highlight particular structures within microorganisms that may not be visible through routine staining techniques. Special stains target unique components, such as capsules, spores, flagella, and certain cellular inclusions, allowing for their detailed observation under a microscope. For example, capsule staining typically requires a negative stain to create a contrast between the capsule and the cell itself, making the capsule's presence apparent, whereas spores can be stained using specific methods that emphasize their resistance to standard staining processes.

In contrast, simple stains typically provide an overall view of the organism by coloring all cells uniformly, which does not allow for the visualization of specific structures. Differential stains, like the Gram stain, categorize organisms based on structural differences in their cell walls but do not specifically target individual traits such as spores and capsules. Negative stains, while useful for viewing certain features like cellular shape and arrangement without heat fixing, do not directly reveal special structures compared to dedicated special stains.