The causes and effects of neuronal degeneration are of major interest to a wide variety of neuroscientists. Paralleling this growing interest is an increasing number of methods applicable to the detection of neuronal degeneration. Fluoro-Jade C stains all degenerating neurons regardless of specific insult or mechanism of cell death. Fluoro-Jade C exhibits the greatest signal to background ratio, as well as the highest resolution. This translates to a stain of maximal contrast and affinity for degenerating neurons. This makes it ideal for localising not only degenerating nerve cell bodies but also distal dendrites, axons and terminals. The dye is highly resistant to fading and is compatible with virtually all histological processing and staining protocols.