Prepare smear at time of collection,
nickel smear,
spray-fix, don't let air-dry,
or submit brush in physiological saline for lab processing,
never fix
Cell block for specimen w/ spontaneous clots:
Squeeze out excess liquid until solid mass,
place mass in labeled cassette, may wrap w/ lens paper,
if too large submit portion,
formalin process routinely
Toluidine blue wet film purpose
Rapid determination of cellularity, esp. FNAs,
& eval. potential cross-contamination
hematoxylin
ammonia water, or Scott tap water
OG-6
EA
Papanicolaou technique stains:
Hematoxylin nuclear stain, Harris or Gill,
OG-6 counterstains tonofilaments in keratinized cells,
EA differentially counterstains cytoplasm of cells,
store all in light-blocking containers
Alcohol vs. formalin fixation
Alcohol better b/c crisp fixation of nuclear chromatin,
avoid formalin - causes different nuclear chromatin patterns which may impact diagnosis
Urine treatment:
V. fragile, doesn't hold pH,
first morning urine not recommended b/c cells degenerated,
add pre-fixative if can't process or send to lab right away,
equal volume of alcoholic saline or Sacomanno fluid
Sparsely cellular specimens
Sample w/ not many cells in suspension can be made more conc'd by Cytospin or centrifugation preparation:
1mL properly prepared cell suspension in funnel of cytospin,
centrifuge,
cells will be deposited on slide & fluid absorbed by filter paper
