Two histological stains for demonstration of contraction bands (cb): Mallory's phosphotungstic acid hematoxylin (PTAH) and a modification of luxol fast blue (LFB) were compared. Microscopical sections from hearts from 60 autopsies were screened. The regional distribution of the cb lesions was also studied. It was found that PTAH showed cb more consistently than LFB. None of the stains were suitable for screening in the lowest magnification. In cases of cardiac death the cb were often extensive and scattered throughout the myocardium. In non-cardiac deaths with cb these were always discrete and seen only in one location which might be a means of differentiating lesions of pathogenetic importance from agonal ones.