Final answer:
Karyotyping is a cytological technique used to reveal the karyotype by staining and identifying chromosomes to detect chromosomal abnormalities. It involves arresting chromosomes in metaphase, staining with dyes like Giemsa, and arranging them to visualize distinct banding patterns and chromosomal characteristics.
Step-by-step explanation:
The technique in which human chromosomes are stained and identified is known as karyotyping. It's a cytological method used to detect chromosomal abnormalities from a single cell by viewing the karyotype. After collecting cells, such as white blood cells, they are induced to divide and treated with a chemical called colchicine to arrest the chromosomes in metaphase. A hypotonic solution causes the chromosomes to spread apart, and they are preserved and applied to a slide. The chromosomes are then stained using Giemsa stain or other dyes to visualize distinct banding patterns, and the prepared chromosomes are observed under bright-field microscopy. This process allows geneticists to identify and manually arrange the chromosomes into a classic karyotype pattern based on the size, banding pattern, and centromere position of each chromosome pair.