MLT GlobeHisto & Cyto Techniques: Cytology
80 Histo & Cyto Techniques MCQs on Cytology with answers and explanations.
Which specimen type is rich in mucus?
Respiratory secretions contain abundant mucus from goblet cells and glands. Serous fluids and CSF are watery and mucus-poor.
Exfoliative cytology and the cervical smear stain are credited to:
Papanicolaou developed the vaginal smear and his polychrome stain. Pappenheimer bodies, Heidenhain's iron hematoxylin and Romanowsky blood stains are named after others.
For a conventional Pap smear, the spatula should sample the:
Most precancerous lesions arise at the squamocolumnar junction (transformation zone), so sampling it is required for smear adequacy.
Bronchoalveolar lavage involves:
BAL washes the distal airways and alveoli with sterile saline, recovering cells and organisms. Brushing and sputum sample the larger airways.
Which technique obtains endometrial cells by suction through a thin cannula?
Aspiration uses negative pressure through a narrow cannula. Lavage washes the cavity with saline, and curettage scrapes tissue.
For air-dried FNA smears, the usual Romanowsky-type stain is:
MGG suits air-dried smears, showing cytoplasm and background material well. Pap and H&E require wet-fixed smears.
For watery, hypocellular fluids, smears are prepared from the:
Centrifugation concentrates the few cells into a pellet. Supernatant is nearly acellular; direct smears suit only cellular FNA material.
Why must Pap smears be fixed within seconds of spreading?
Delayed fixation causes air-drying artifact, with enlarged pale nuclei and poor staining, and permits degeneration.
Watery specimens such as urine or CSF adhere poorly to glass. Slides are therefore first coated with:
Egg albumin (or poly-L-lysine) forms an adhesive layer. Glycerine and oil do not bond cells to glass.
The endocervical canal is lined by:
Tall mucin-producing columnar cells line the endocervix and form crypts. The ectocervix is covered by non-keratinized stratified squamous epithelium.
The surface of the endometrium is covered by which type of epithelium?
Endometrium has a single layer of columnar cells, some ciliated; stratified squamous epithelium lines the ectocervix and vagina, not the uterine cavity.
Which practice is correct when running a Papanicolaou staining setup?
Filtering haematoxylin removes precipitate and floating cells; air-drying damages Pap morphology, and shared dishes risk cross-contamination.
After a transthoracic lung aspiration, the patient is observed for a few hours mainly to detect:
Pneumothorax is the commonest complication of percutaneous lung needling, often confirmed with a post-procedure chest X-ray; bleeding/haemoptysis is less frequent.
Before which aspiration is a prothrombin time/INR most essential because of the organ's high vascularity?
The liver is highly vascular and makes clotting factors; coagulation must be checked before needling it, unlike small superficial lesions.
When aspirating a large palpable ovarian mass through the abdominal wall, the operator must take care to avoid:
Bowel loops lie between the abdominal wall and pelvic masses; puncturing them risks peritonitis. Imaging guidance helps avoid them.
After haematoxylin, Pap-stained nuclei look reddish. Which step converts them to blue?
Haematoxylin–aluminium lake is red in acid and turns blue in alkali; acid alcohol does the reverse and removes excess stain.
Nuclei in a Pap smear are too dark after haematoxylin. Which brief treatment corrects this?
Differentiation in dilute HCl removes excess haematoxylin; alkaline bluing, alcohol and xylene do not extract the dye.
Which organ is poorly suited to ultrasound-guided aspiration because air blocks the ultrasound beam?
Ultrasound is reflected at air interfaces, so normal lung cannot be imaged; solid organs of the abdomen, pelvis and neck image well.
Which is an advantage of ultrasound over CT for guiding aspiration of a superficial mass?
Ultrasound shows the needle live and uses no X-rays; it is operator-dependent and cannot image through air or bone.
Which statement best describes the Papanicolaou stain?
The Pap stain combines haematoxylin with OG-6 and EA, giving crisp chromatin and transparent cytoplasm; air-dried smears suit Romanowsky stains.