13: Intro to Cytology Flashcards
When should you try to aspirate from a lesion?
Very solid, internal lymph nodes
Why masses should you not aspirate from?
Lymph nodes, spleen, liver, thyroids, +/- bone
Why should you only use a needle for vascular masses and lymph nodes?
Reduce blood contamination
Why should you use continuous suction for a spindle cell tumour?
May not get good cellularity
Why should you use intermittent suction for internal masses?
Risk of laceration
How many lymph nodes should you sample?
More than 2, not mandibular
What should you check before aspirating liver/spleen?
Platelets/coagulation
WHy shouldn’t you aspirate an adrenal mass?
Mass adrenaline release
Why shouldn’t you aspirate carcinomas esp prostate, bladder?
Seeding
Which type of neoplasia has especially delicate cells?
Lymphoma
Why tumours are unlikely to exfoliate for an impression/swab smear?
Mesenchymal tumours/fibrous tissues
How can you prepare a biopsy from the GI tract?
Squash
What’s a problem with scraping?
Often just get debris or inflammation, but can get Demodex or Cryptococcus
Which tubes should you use for fluid samples?
EDTA and plain
What may you do with a fluid if it is less cellular?
Centrifuge or make a buffy coat preparation
What’s the problem with Diff Quik?
Does not always stain mast cells
Where do you see degenerate neutrophils?
Tissue not blood
What causes degenerate neutrophils?
Bacterial toxins break down the nuclear membrane causing it to swell
What should you look for if you see degenerate neutrophils?
Intracellular cocci
What are the three types of non-inflammatory cells?
Round, epithelial, mesenchmal
What do round cells look like?
Individual, distinct borders, efoliate readily, round to oval
What are four examples of round cells?
Mast, plasma, lymphocyte, histiocytoma
What do epithelial cells look like?
Clustered, distinct borders, variable exfoliation, round to polygonal, round nucleus
What do mesenchymal (spindle) cells look like?
Individual or loosely clustered, wispy borders, poor exfoliation, oval to fusiform, oval to elongated nucleus
Where can you see low numbers or spindle cells?
Fibrosis/fibroplasia
What are the five criteria of malignancy?
Pleomorphism, increased N:C ratio, nucleolar changes, multinucleation, abnormal mitotic figures
Which organ is multinucleation normal?
Liver
How many of the criteria do you need for a malignant neoplasia?
3 or more
Below three of the criteria, what could the tissue be?
Benign, hyperplastic, dysplastic
Which changes does inflammation lead to?
Dysplasia
What do damaged cells look like on histo?
No cytoplasm, pale chromatin, prominent nucleoli
Which malignant tumours can look benign?
Anal sac adenocarcinoma, thyroid, adrenal
When do you see pleomorphic lymph nodes?
Non-neoplastic reactive lymphoid hyperplasia (lymphoma is monomorphic)
