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Abstract

A subgroup of specimens exists within pulmonary cytopathology which demonstrate cytomorphologic features beyond that seen in typical benign and reactive conditions but lack the degree of cellular changes warranting a diagnosis of suspicious for malignancy; such cases are best categorized as “atypical.” Although these cases are associated with a considerable risk of malignancy in follow-up studies, a significant percentage are a result of profound inflammatory conditions, acute and chronic lung injury, and treatment effects. The cytomorphologic criteria for designation of specimens as “atypical” are described and illustrated.

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Correspondence to Gordon H. Yu .

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Yu, G.H. (2019). Category III: Atypical. In: Layfield, L., Baloch, Z. (eds) The Papanicolaou Society of Cytopathology System for Reporting Respiratory Cytology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97235-0_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97235-0_4

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