fecal artifacts Flashcards
feces contains what components
undigested food
digestive byproducts
human cells
secretions from the digestive tract
microorganisms
what are confusers
artifacts in human samples that are responsible for incorrect identification
may be confused with helminth eggs but are bigger than them; interior is unorganized and contains large vacuoles
vegetable cells
resembles taenia; little to no internal structures
pollen
polygonal and flattened
vegetable cell
lacks 6-hooked oncosphere and lacks embryo wall
pollen
may be confused with helminth larvae such as hookworms and strongyloides because of shape and size; no head or tail region
plant hair/fiber
ladder like appearance
vegetable spiral
refractile center; broken at one end; lacks internal structures
plant hair/fiber
confused with helminth larva due to size and shape; no head or tail region
vegetable spiral
may be confused with cryptosporidium spp., cyclospora spp, microsporidia, helminth eggs, or protozoan cysts
yeast
round to irregular round-shape; very refractile
starch cells/ granules
round to oval shape ~4-8um in size; normally present in stool hence reporting is not necessary
yeast
no internal structure or nucleus and can resemble protozoan cysts e. hartmanni and e. nana
starch cells/ granules
undigested starch is what color in iodine staining
blue-black
partially digested starch is what color in iodine staining
red/pink
spherical in shape and resembles protozoan cysts
fat globules
protistan parasites of crayfish; corpora parasitica
beaver bodies
large amount of this can indicate steatorrhea
fat globules
present in stool if crayfish is consumed in significant amounts; resemble helminth ova; no clinical significance
beaver bodies
how many droplets of fat is normal in samples
100 small droplets, <4 um in diameter
how can you tell if it is steatorrhea already
observation of >60 large, 6-75um large droplets per HPO
seen in improperly prepared wet mounts/ slides
air bubbles
rectangular in shape; can or cannot have striations
muscle fiber
normally present in high red-meat diet; too much of this is creatorrhea
muscle fibers
muscle fiber in not normal in high amounts in what circumstances
biliary obstruction and gastrocolic fistulas; pancreatic insufficiency; cystic fibrosis
can be confused with tapeworm proglottid
muscle fibers
formed from the breakdown products of eosinophils
charcot-leyden crystals
large refractile nucleus with distinct cell borders
epithelial cells (squamous from anal mucosa and columnar from intestinal mucosa)
look like amoebic trophozoites
lack internal structures of amoebic trophozoites
epithelial cells (squamous from anal mucosa and columnar from intestinal mucosa)
seen in stool or sputum
slender crystals with pointed ends
diamond shaped
charcot-leyden crystals
stain red-purple in trichrome stain
charcot-leyden crystals
if charcot-leyden crystals is seen, how is it reported
charcot-leyden crystal present
may indicate hypersensitivity or allergic reactions and parasitic helminth infections
charcot-leyden crystals
squamous epithelial cells from anal mucosa and columnar epithelial cells from intestinal mucosa
epithelial cells
what kind of nucleus and cell borders do epithelial cells have?
large refractile nucleus and distinct cell borders
what do epithelial cells look like?
amoebic trophozoites
what do epithelial cells lack?
lack the typical interior structures of amoebic trophozoites
