General characteristics of chromosome banding and banding techniques have been described in the previous chapter (Chapter 6). In general, fluorescence banding provides much the same information as banding using absorption staining, but fluorescence staining methods are generally simpler than banding methods using absorption staining and, in many respects, are more reliable. On the other hand, fluorescent preparations are not permanent and have to be examined using a fluorescence microscope. As well as providing the same general information as banding with absorption staining, most fluorescence banding methods also provide specific types of information (for example, on heteromorphisms of heterochromatin) that are not shown by other methods. Details of these applications will be given under the specific methods.