Fine needle aspiration cytology of metastases

Abstract

Diagnostic cytology is the examination of cells from human organs obtained by either directly scraping the mucosal tissue or by aspirating with a fine needle. The specimen is smeared on glass slides. Under the microscope properly prepared smears show a thin layer of cells often spread out singly. After proper fixation and staining procedures, the cell membranes become transparent thus allowing the cytopathologist to scrutinize the integral parts of the nucleus and cytoplasm. Since Papanicolaou et al. [1] published a monograph on diagnostic cytology in 1943, pathologists around the world have learned the technique and applied it with great success as an adjunct to surgical pathological procedures. The clinical cytology practiced in the middle of this century consisted largely of exfoliative preparations, i.e. cells that are either exfoliated naturally into the body cavities or scraped off from the mucosal surfaces, such as in cervico-vaginal pap smears. Diagnostic cytology, as it steadily gains momentum, is no longer limited to the examination of exfoliated or scraped mucosal cells. The discipline is now encompassing all specialities of medical practice, and involving many organs which, when aspirated by a fine needle, will yield non-exfoliative types of cells for cytological examination.