LAB- Fecal Artifacts Flashcards
Components that are responsible for incorrect identification
Fecal Artifacts
Components contained in feces
- Undigested food
- Digestive by-products
- Human cells
- Secretions from digestive tract
- Microorganisms
Fecal artifacts are also known as
Confusers
Resemble Taenia and other helminth eggs
Pollen
How to differentiate pollen from taenia
- Check size and shape
- Contains little to no internal structures
- Lacks 6-hooked oncosphere lack of embryo wall
Can be confused with helminth eggs
Vegetable cells
How to differentiate vegetable cells from helminth eggs
- Lager in sizes compared to helminth eggs
- Polygonal and flattened
- Interior portion is unorganized and contain large vacuoles
- Contains thicker walls
- Distended (Has glycogen and starch inside)
Has a ladder-like appearance
Vegetable spirals
Can be confused with tape worms, as well as helminth larva because of shape and size
Vegetable spirals
How to differentiate from other parasites
Lacks head or tail region
May be confused with helminth larva (Hookworms and Strongyloides) because of shape and size
Plant Hair/Fiber
How to differentiate plant hair from helminth larva
- Lack of head or tail region
- Often broke at one end
- Has a refractile center and has a transparent body as they lack internal structures
Maybe confused with Cryptosporidium spp., Cyclospora spp., microporidia, helminth eggs, or protozoan cysts
Yeast (Normally present in stool especially when stool is stored for long periods of time)
What does a high amount of yeast on a fresh stool sample indicate
Could indicate a possible yeast infection
What should you do upon seeing yeast after 24 hours in a stool sample
Request for another sample as yeast usually increase in number after some time
Shape of yeast
Round to oval in shape (4-8 um in size
Has no internal structure or nucleus, is very refractile, and resembles protozoan cysts
Starch
Shape and size of starch
round to irregular round shape and is considered a starch granule if <10 um
Undigested starch in iodine staining has what type of color
Blue-black
partially digested starch in iodine staining has what type of color
Red/pink
Protistan parasites of crayfish and can be seen in stool after consuming crayfish
Beaver bodies
Beaver bodies are also known as
Corpora parasitica
Resembles helminth ova and has no clinical significance
Beaver bodies
Is spherical in shape and is mistaken as E. nana and protozoan cysts
Fat globules
Large amounts of may indicate presence of
Steatorrhea (presence of excess fecal fat)(Observation of >60 large, 6 to 75 um
large droplets per HPO = steatorrhea)
Normal samples contain how many droplets of fat globules
100 small droplets, <4 um in diameter per HPO
Rectangular in shape that may or may not contain striations
Muscle fiber (Normally present especially in high red-meat diet)
Muscle fiber is normally present in stool except when
There is an Increased amounts of striated fibers are seen in biliary obstruction and gastrocolic fistulas. Also in patients with pancreatic insufficiency, such as in cases of cystic fibrosis
Presence of too much muscle fibers is known as
Creatorrhea
Can be confused with tapeworm proglottid
Muscle fiber
Can be seen in improperly prepared wet mounts/smear
Air bubbles
