Cytology Flashcards
Hypertrophy
increase in size of an organ or in a select area of tissue
Hyperplasia
abnormal increase in the number of cells
Neoplasm
change in the type of adult cells in a tissue to a form that is abnormal for that tissue
Dysplasia
abnormality of development; alteration in size, shape, and organization of adult cells
Anaplasia
term used to describe cancer cells that divide rapidly and bear little or no resemblance to normal cells
How is a blade held for a skin scraping?
perpendicular to lesion or area to be scraped
How is a Touch Imprint done?
expose a piece of tissue, cut into surface of lesion, blot with dry gauze to remove excess fluids, touch sample several times to a clean slide
What is a non-aspiration also called?
capillary technique/stab technique
What are some common problems with fine needle biopsy’s?
no to few cells, blood contamination, poorly prepared slides
How is a linear/line slide prep done?
remove needle from syringe, aspirate air into syringe, expel contents of needle onto microscope slide near frosted edge, prepare slide in same manner as a blood smear
How is a starfish smear done?
remove needle from syringe, aspirate air into syringe, transfer sample to middle of clean slide, use needle tip and drag through sample at various lengths and directions
How is a compression/squash slide prep done?
remove needle from syringe, aspirate air into syringe, transfer sample to middle of clean slide, apply a second slide perpendicular or parallel to sample slide, pull slide #2 evenly across the sample slide
How is a modified compression/squash slide prep done?
remove needle from syringe, aspirate air into syringe, transfer sample to middle of clean slide, place second slide perpendicular to sample slide, rotate top slide 45 degrees and lift upward
How is a combination cytological slide prep done?
remove needle from syringe, aspirate air into syringe, transfer sample to middle of slide, 1/3 sample is prepared as a squash/compression technique, leave middle section alone, last 1/3 of sample is prepared as a line prep
What are the two methods of tissue biopsy?
wedge and punch biopsy
How is a wedge biopsy done?
obtained with scalpel blade, cut a “triangle” like shape into skin to obtain all edges of lesion
What is a bunch biopsy also called?
Keyes biopsy punch
What should be recorded after a centesis is done?
total volume collected, color of fluid, turbidity (clear or cloudy), TP, sediment
When examining fluid samples, what is done?
multiple slides are made, excess fluid is placed in EDTA tube, observe viscosity
How long should cytology’s stay in the fixative (stain)?
2-5 minutes
What are the two general types of stains that are used?
Romanowsky Stain, New Methylene Blue
What are the 3 types of Romanowsky stains?
Wright’s stain, Giemsa, Diff Quik
What are the 5 concerns of Romanowsky stains?
excessive blue, excessive pink, inadequate stained nucleated cells, uneven staining, precipitate
What stain detects the presence of bacteria?
Gram Stain
What is Hematoxin/eosin stain used for?
histological evaluations
What is Papanicolaou’s Stain used for?
commonly used in human gynecological exams (pap smear)
provides good nuclear detail
What is a degenerative neutrophil?
hypersegmented neutrophil
What is a nondegenerative neutrophil?
normal neutrophil
What is a plasma cell?
oval cell with odd shaped nucleus, basophilic cytoplasm, perinuclear clear zone
What are mesothelial cells?
round with round to oval nucleus, may react to fluid and change shape, resemble plasma cell
What are mast cells?
round to oval, numerous blue to purple cytoplasmic granules, granules contain histamine and heparin
What total nucleated cell count (TNCC) is indicative of inflammation?
> 5000/ul
What is purulent inflammation?
acute inflammation, 85% neutrophils, may also seen macrophages and lymphocytes
What is pyogranulomatous inflammation?
50% macrophages, 75% neutrophils
What causes purulent inflammation?
may be due to bacteria
What causes pyogranulomatous inflammation?
can be due to parasitic or fungal infections
What is granulomatous inflammation?
chronic, 70% monocytes, macrophages, and giant cells, few neutrophils
What is eosinophilic inflammation?
greater than 10% eosinophils, may also see mast cells, plasma cell and lymphocytes
What are the characteristics of benign lesions?
self-contained and localized, homogenous (cells are consistently the same), usually grow slowly, does not spread
What are the characteristics of malignant lesions?
invasive/aggressive, can grow quickly, able to spread
Anisocytosis
variation in cell size, sign of malignancy
Macrocytosis
larger than normal, sign of malignancy
Hypercellularity
increased cell exfoliation, sign of malignancy
Pleomorphism
variable size and shape in cells of the same type, sign of malignancy
Anisokaryosis
variation in nuclear size, sign of malignancy
What cytoplasm criteria suggests malignancy?
vacuoles in cytoplasm, basophilic cytoplasm
When are Epithelial cells seen in malignant neoplastic tissue?
carcinoma/adenocarcinoma
What do Epithelial cells look like?
round to caudate, large cells with cellular variation and nuclei may become smooth and coarse, multinucleated
When are Mesenchymal cells seen in malignant neoplastic tissue?
sarcoma
What do Mesenchymal cells look like?
spindle to stellate, small to medium sized
When are Discrete round cells seen in malignant neoplastic tissue?
round cell tumors
What do Discrete round cells look like?
round, small to medium size
When do lipomas occur?
generally occur in adult dogs, 8+ years old
Where can lipomas occur?
SQ area of the chest, abdomen, legs, axillary regions
What are the characteristics of lipomas?
SQ growths of variable size and shape, slow growing, feel soft and spongy on palpation, skin in freely movable over tumor and tumor is not attached to underlying tissue
