Fecal Artifacts Flashcards
Non-pathogenic component of fecal sample, but may be an indication of a disease
Fecal artifacts
“fecal confusers”
Fecal artifacts
Fecal Components
- Undigested food
- Digestive by-products
- Human cells
- Secretions from digestive tract
- Microorganisms
What does pollen resemble?
Taenia and other helminth eggs
Has little to no internal structures and lacks 6-hooked oncosphere lack of embryo wall
Pollen
- Contained within sac
- Thick-shelled
- Has glycogen
Vegetable cells
Shape and size of vegetable cells
Polygonal and flattened; larger sizes compared to helminth eggs
What does vegetable cells resemble?
Helminth eggs
Describe the interior portion of the vegetable cell
Unorganized and contain large vacuole
What does vegetable spirals resemble?
Tapeworms and helminth larva
Discrepancy between vegetable spirals and larva
Lacks head or tail region
Plant/hair fiber is often confused with _____
Helminth larva (hookworms and Strongyloides)
Lacks head or tail region and has a refractile center
Plant/hair fiber
Normally occurring if sample is stored for a long time
Yeast
Normal size of a yeast
4-8 micrometer
Yeast is often confused with _____
Cryptosporidium spp., Cyclospora spp., microsporidia, helminth eggs, or protozoan cysts
The presence of branching _____ may be and indication of pathogenicity of the yeast present (Candida spp.) and should be reported
pseudohyphae
_____ causes irritation to the inguinal region of the immunosuppressed patients and may lead to secondary bacterial infection
Candida spp.
What does starch cells/granules resemble?
E. hartmanni & E. nana
Iodine and starch attract and creates the _____ (due to bile present)
golden appearance
Stain of undigested starch
blue-black
Stain of partially digested strach
red/pink
Protistan parasites of crayfish
Beaver bodies
Beaver bodies are also known as _____
Corpora parasitica
True or false. Beaver bodies have no clinical signifiance
True
What does beaver bodies resemble?
Helminth ova
Fat globules are often confused as
E. hartmanni and E. nana
Presence of excess fecal fat
Steatorrhea
Normal samples contain ___ small droplets of fat globules, <___ micrometer in diameter per HPO
100, 4
Does not indicate pathogen but can indicate diseases such as cystic fibrosis
Muscle fiber
Muscle fibers may be confused as _____
Tapeworm proglottid
Presence of too much muscle fibers
Creatorrhea
Seen in improperly prepared wet mounts/smear
Air bubbles
Mistaken for protozoan trophozoites
WBC
Why are WBC mistaken as protozoan trophozoites?
They are mononucleated
- Product of eosinophils
Charcot Leyden Crystals
Slender crystals with pointed ends “diamond-shaped”
Charcot Leyden Crystals
Charcot Leyden Crystals are stained _____ with trichrome stain
red-purple
Charcot Leyden Crystals may indicate _____
hypersensitivity/allergic reaction and parasitic helminth infections
Epithelial cells look like _____ but lack the typical interior structures of it
Amebic trophozoites
Confused as ciliates
Detached ciliary tufts
