PRL UNIT 2 Flashcards
Rounded or angular when seen in fecal samples. No internal structure. Will stain pink to purple in iodine mounts.
Starch Granules
Common findings in Giardiasis and other parasitic infections causing malabsorption. Appears to be round with thin circular lining
Fat Globules
Epithelial cells show close resemblance to amebic trophozoites in size and
shape.
True
Yeasts are generally harmless, but may be associated with fungal infection.
True
Pollen grains may mimic Helminth larvae.
False
Various components found in Feces
Undigested food
Digestive by-product
Human cells
Secretions from digestive tract
Microorganisms
found in human samples that are responsible for incorrect identification
Fecal Artifacts
13 Fecal Artifacts
Pollen
Vegetable Cells
Vegetable Spirals
Plant Hair / Fiber
Yeast Cells
Starch Cells / Granules
Beaver Bodies
Fat Globules
Muscle Fiber
Air Bubbles
White Blood Cells
Polymorphonuclear Leukocytes (PMNs)
Charcot Leyden Crystals
Epithelial Cells
fecal artifact with little to no internal structures
Pollen
lacks 6-hooked oncosphere and lacks an embryo wall
Pollen
resemblance of Pollen
- Taenia spp
- Ascaris Lumbricoides
- Taenia Saginata
- Other helminth eggs
How to differentiate Pollen from Eggs
Check size and shape; check internal structures
May be confused with helminth eggs
Vegetable Cells
Appear in larger in sizes compared to helminth
eggs
Vegetable Cells
Polygonal and flattened; Interior portion is unorganized and contain large vacuoles
Vegetable Cells
Resemblance of vegetable cells
- Helminth eggs
- Ova of a parasite - hookworms
Ladder-like appearance and lacks head or tail region
Vegetable Spirals
Resemblance of Vegetable Spirals (due to shape and size)
- Helminth larvae
- Segments of a tapeworm - have internal structures
- Larvae
How to differentiate Vegetable Spirals to tapeworms
check internal structures
confused with helminth larva
Plant Hair / Fiber
- Lacks head or tail region
- Lack internal structures seen in true parasites
- often broken at one end
- Have a refractile center
Plant Hair/Fiber
Resemblance with Plant Hair/Fiber
Helminth Larva; hookworms and Strongyloides
oval and cyst-like with thin walls
Yeast Cells
- Round to oval in shape
- Normally present in stool hence reporting is not
always necessary
Yeast Cells
parasite that causes diarrhea
Coccidia parasite
Resemblance of Yeast Cells - depending on size and color
Cryptosporidium spp.
Cyclospora spp.
Microsporidia
Helminth eggs
Protozoan cysts
How to differentiate Yeast Cells from parasites
Has a presence of budding on the cell
What type of infection are yeast infections / mold
Fungal Infection
Fresh or freshly preserved stools with significant numbers of budding yeast may indicate _____
Systemic Infection
patients who are prone to systemic infection
immunosuppressed patients
diagnosis when there’s a presence of yeast
HIV, AIDs or on chemotherapy
presence of branching pseudohyphae may be an indication of pathogenicity of the yeast
Candida spp.
- Indicates pathogenicity of the yeast
- Commonly observed in diabetic patients, who
are more prone to fungal infection
branching pseudohyphae
- Round to irregular round-shaped
- Has poor to no internal structure or nucleus
- Very refractile
Starch Cells / Granules
Starch Cells if it’s <
Starch granules
Resemblance of Starch Cells / Granules
Protozoan Cysts
- Entamoeba hartmanni
- Entamoeba nana
Iodine Staining for undigested starch stains
Blue-black and concentric layers of white homogenous materials
Iodine Staining for Partially digested Starch
Red / Pink
corpora parasitica
Beaver Bodies
Protistan parasites of crayfish and psorospermium haeckelii
Beaver Bodies
Resemblance of Beaver Bodies
Helminth Ova
- Psorospermium haeckelii
When are fat globules present in stool
- Malabsorption
- Pancreatic enzyme deficiency
- Cystic Fibrosis
Bile acts as emulsifiers and provides surface area for breakdown of fats
Pancreatic bile deficiency
- No internal organs, no nucleus;
- Large amounts may indicate presence of excess fecal fat
Fat globules
cause by excess fecal fat
Steatorrhea
Resemblance of Fat Globules
Protozoan cysts
Fat globules can be seen in patients suffering from ____
Giardia duodenalis
May also be caused by a lack of bile resulting in the body’s inability to process fat globules
Steatorrhea
undigested meat fibers
Muscle fiber
T/F More striated fibers are less digested
compared to less striations
T
present in patiens with high red-meat diet
Cystic Fibrosis
Increased amounts of striated fibers are seen in ___
biliary
obstruction and gastrocolic fistulas; pancreatic insufficiency,
such as in cases of cystic fibrosis
Presence of too much muscle fibers
Creatorrhea
Resemblance of Muscle Fibers
Segment of a tapeworm or tapeworm proglottid
How to differentiate muscle fibers from tapework
Check internal structure
Indication of Striations in a Muscle Fiber
Striations - undigested
No Striations - digested
Seen in improperly prepared wet mounts / smear
Air Bubbles
infection is present when this is seen in stool
White Blood Cells
permanent stain in WBC
Trichrome stain
Resemblance of WBC
Histolytica
- E. histolytica
- E. dispar
Type of WBC when Infection is present
Polymorphonuclear Leukocytes PMNs)
Nucleus of E. Histolytica and E. Dispar Cysts
Dark red, Round with central karyosome, and peripheral chromatin
Cytoplasm of of E. Histolytica and E. Dispar Cysts
Green, Uniform, agranular cytoplasm
One large nucleus that may be irregular in shape and may contain red-staining round bodies and nucleus may be absent
Macrophages
Ratio of nuclear material to cytoplasm (PMNs)
1:1
Ratio of nuclear material to cytoplasm (E. histolytica and E. dispar)
1: 10 to 1: 12 (trophozoite)
1: 2 to 1: 3 (cysts)
Ratio of nuclear material to cytoplasm (Macrophages)
1: 4 - 1 :6
How to differentiate WBC from cysts
Look at the size, ratio and complexity of the cell
Ratio of nuclear material to cytoplasm (Trophozoites)
1: 10 to 1:12
formed from the break-down products of eosinophils
Charcot Leyden Crystals
causes severe helminthic infections
Increase in eosinophils
- Slender crystals with pointed ends “diamond-shaped”
- Stain red-purple with trichrome stain
Charcot Leyden Crystals
indication of Charcot Leyden Crystals
- Hypersensitivity / allergic reaction
- Parasitic helminth infections
With a large, refractile nucleus and with distinct cell borders
Epithelial Cells
Lack the typical interior structures of amebic trophozoites
Epithelial Cells
Resemblance of Epithelial Cells
Amebic Trophozoites
Ciliated epithelial tissue cells which resembles Ciliates
Detached Ciliary Tufts
Vegetable spirals resemble ________ due to size and shape.
Helminth Larvae
Rectangular structures representing undigested meat fibers.
Muscle Fibers
Coiled strand of vegetable remnants with a ladder-like appearance.
Vegetable Spirals
________ refers to the presence of too much fats in stool; _________ refers to the presence of too much muscle fibers in stool.
Steatorrhea; Creatorrhea
These are diamond-shaped crystals which develop from eosinophil breakdown products.
Charcot Leyden Crystals
There is a considerable resemblance of a yeast cell to the oocyst of ______.
Protozoan
Sphere looking cyst like structures
Fat Globules
