CYTOLOGIC TECHNIQUES Flashcards
simply means microscopic examination of cells from different body sites for diagnostic purposes.
Diagnostic Cytology
includes exfoliative cytology and fine needle aspiration.
Diagnostic cytology
For _______to be of diagnostic value, the sample must include representative material and the method used to process the specimen must give rapid results, without sacrificing cellular detail.
cytologic examination
_____ and _____are most important in cytological interpretation.
Cytologists rely heavily on the quality and appearance of the____.
Consistency and reliability
stain
Specimen for cytologic examination may be derived from various sources:
- Exfoliative cytology
- Fine needle aspiration
- Body fluids
deals with the microscopic study of cells that have been desquamated from epithelial surfaces.
Exfoliative cytology
may be found in smears that have been spontaneously shed or physically removed from epithelial and mucous membranes.
Exfoliated cells
The cytological specimens collected from female genital tract include(3)
cervical smear
vaginal smear
endometrial smear
is observed in normal cells due to constant growth and replacement with new cells - more readily observed in malignant tumor cells.
Spontaneous exfoliation
Specimen can be collected from the epithelial surfaces by (3)
lightly scraping the surface
by swabbing
aspirating or washing the surfaces
Exfoliative cytology
• Assessment of female hormonal status in case of sterility and endocrine disorders.
This is achieved by microscopic evaluation for determination of________, based on examination of smears taken from the______
maturation index (MI)
lateral vaginal walls
Exfoliative cytology
• Detection of malignant cells in body fluids, mainly used for_____
staging cancer
Exfoliative cytology
• Detection of precancerous cervical lesions in women using..
cervicovaginal smear/Pap smear
Exfoliative cytology
• For determination of genetic sex -most of the nuclei of females exhibit conglomeration of chromatin, representing XX chromosomes (Barr body), which may be demonstrated in the smears from….
buccal or vaginal mucosa
T or F
Exfoliative cytology can be used for detection of infectious agents.
True
Smear Preparation
Smears should be made from___ material, prepared in the doctor’s office or radiology units.
fresh
Histotechnicians sometimes perform special stains on cytology smears, blood films and cytopreps from other departments within the laboratory.
Increasingly, the commonly received cytoprep is that of the “______”
thin prep.
“thin prep”
These smears are wet-fixed in______ immediately after preparation to preserve the fine structure of the chromatin and help in the evaluation of nuclear changes.
95% ethanol
is avoided with smears for cytological detection of neoplasia because it changes the appearances of the cells.
Air drying
Slides bearing blood or bone marrow smears, on the other hand, are usually…
air-dried
Cancer of the_____ is the commonest cancer that can be detected even at the pre-invasive stage.
uterine cervix
involves the microscopic examination of cell samples that have been taken primarily from the ecto- and endocervix, smeared on glass slides and stained by the Papanicolaou (Pap) method.
Cervical cytology screening
True or False
Cervical cytology is only for screeninh
True
The patient should abstain from coitus, not douche the vagina for at least_____, and not apply intravaginal preparations for at least ____before the examination.
a day
one week
The use of______ for collection of cervical smear is to be discouraged because of the drying artifacts and loss of cells that are caused by this method.
cotton swab
is preferable to plastic spatula, because of its mildly rough surface that can collect more material.
Wooden spatula
is used strictly for taking materials from endocervix.
Endo-cervical brushing
are often used for ulcerated surface lesions to allow an immediate assessment of the lesion before fixation and processing of the tissue
sample.
The preparations should be quickly air dried and then stained. It is also indicated in the case of tumors specially of lymph nodes.
Impression smears
Sputum Smear
• Obtain at least________ specimens.
• Collect early morning sputum by a deep cough in a______ jar containing______
3 consecutive morning sputum
wide -mouthed
Saccomanno fluid
Saccomanno fluid
50% ethyl alcohol
2% carbowax
If the patient cannot cough up sputum spontaneously, induced sputum should be collected using inhalation of an aerosol solution for_____ to produce a deep cough sample.
20 minutes
Sputum smear
If a more extensive study is to be made, it is recommended that a minimum of ____slides be prepared, and one is air dried for_____
At least two slides should be stained by______ method.
2-4; Giemsa staining
Papanicolaou method
Sputum smear
With the end of a wooden applicator stick, these samples are evenly spread on the slides and immediately placed in fixative for a minimum of…
one hour
Sputum collected should have been coughed from “______” to ensure that the specimen is a true representative of the sputum and not just saliva.
The mucus present preserves the cell constituents; however, it is highly recommended that the specimen be as fresh as possible when examined, if better cellular detail is to be appreciated.
down-deep
________are found on the sputum smears from a deep cough.
Absence of these suggests “saliva” rather than sputum and results an unsatisfactory specimen.
Alveolar macrophages
Bronchial Brushing specimen is directly smeared onto two labeled slides by______ (usually done by a bronchoscopic specialist at the bronchoscopy laboratory).
pull technique
________specimens are freshly collected in the bronchoscopy collection container and hand delivered to the laboratory.
Bronchial Washing
Bronchoscopy specimen
Care should be taken to collect specimen taken directly from the bronchus, to insure that the smear contains_________ from the bronchial mucosa, not just red blood cells and leukocytes.
epithelial cells (ciliated bronchial cells)
are quite difficult to make due to inaccessibility of the specimen and the presence of gastric juices which have a deleterious effect on the morphology of exfoliated cells.
Gastric smear preparations
Gastric smear preparations
Smears are usually collected by ______ and ______
The collected specimen is then sent to the laboratory. Specimen should be examined as soon as possible since any delay of more than_____, before fixation, will digest the cells and make the specimen unsatisfactory for evaluation.
simple irrigation and aspiration technique.
I /2 hour
Gastric smear prep
The patient should have fasted for at least______ before gastric washing is performed. Esophageal washings are to be examined immediately.
8 hours
T or F
Cytologic examination of nipple discharge has an extremely high diagnostic yield for diagnosis of breast carcinoma.
False
Low
Spontaneous nipple discharge is usually a result of hormonal imbalance in young patients, and when the secretion is bloody a_______ should be considered clinically.
The spontaneous nipple discharge should be smeared on a clean glass slide, and immediately placed in fixative.
benign intraductal papilloma
In women, except during lactation and the immediate post-lactation period, any discharge from the nipple is abnormal .
The nipple discharge is usually due to a benign breast lesion such as_____and _____, or due to endocrine problems.
duct ectasia and papilloma
However the major value of cytologic examination of nipple discharge is potential detection of_______ in a patient with clinically undetected
carcinoma.
malignant cells
Breast secretion
Collection Technique:
Gently strip the subareolar area and nipple using the thumb and forefinger.
Place the labeled slide upon the nipple and draw it quickly across the nipple. If more than a drop is collected, use another slide to smear with a _____technique.
Immediately drop slide in a bottle of_____ or _____
pull-up
95% isopropanol or use spray fixative.
Breast secretion collection technique
If the secretion is scanty in amount, smears should be restricted to a small area of the slide to prevent____.
Secretions obtained from both breasts should be properly identified as left or right.
For localized breast lesions producing discharge upon pressure, the secretion may be smeared directly on the slide after expressing material from the breast.
drying
is the study of cellular samples obtained from organs that do not shed cells spontaneously, such as breast, thyroid, lymph nodes, liver, lungs, skin, soft tissues and bones.
Fine needle aspiration
It is useful in lesions that are easily palpable, like growth of skin, subcutaneous soft tissue tumors, thyroid, lymph nodes, salivary glands and breast.
Fine needle aspiration
FNA
The basic technique uses a_____ gauge and ____ ml. The needle is inserted into the lesion and repeatedly redirected to sample a number of areas while applying a small amount of suction on the syringe.
25-gauge needle and a 10-ml syringe