2. WHAT IS CYTOLOGY
• Cytology (also known as cytopathology) cyto means cells and logy means study .
• Cytology is the microscopic examination of cells that have been collected from
the body.
• By examining the appearance of these cells, including their number, size, shape,
color, internal characteristics, and how they fit together with their neighbors, it is
often possible to make a diagnosis of a specific disease process.
3.
4. WHAT INFORMATION CAN CYTOLOGY
PROVIDE?
• The most important thing cytology can tell us is whether a problem is caused by
inflammation or by neoplasia (abnormal growth of tissue).
• If there is inflammation, cytology can often identify the underlying cause, such as a
bacterial infection, embedded foreign body, or allergies.
• If the sample appears to be neoplastic, cytology can usually determine which type of
tissue is involved and whether the neoplasm is malignant (cancerous) or benign.
5. WHAT IS EXFOLIATIVE CYTOLOGY?
• Exfoliative cytology means scraping the surface of a possible skin
cancer with a knife and then spreading a small layer of the scrape
onto a glass slide so that the cells in the scrape can be stained and
looked at under a microscope.
• Example skin sample -: Exfoliative cytology for the diagnosis of basal
cell carcinoma and other skin cancers in adults
6.
7. WHAT IS INTERVENTIONAL CYTOLOGY ?
• This is the branch of cytology in which samples are obtained by clinical procedure or
surgical intervention.
• It is also known as aspiration cytology.
• It includes fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC), biopsy, imprint cytology and crush
smear cytology.
8. HOW ARE CELLS COLLECTED?
• There are several different methods for collecting cells from tissues, depending on where the
problem is and what type of tissue is involved.
• The most common technique is called fine needle aspiration or fine needle biopsy. This simple
technique involves using a sterile, fine gauge needle attached to an empty syringe.
• The needle is inserted into the middle of the tissue in question and the plunger of the syringe
pulled back to create suction, withdrawing (or aspirating) cells. Cells can be aspirated from solid
tissues, such as organs or tumors, and fluid-filled tissues, such as joints or cysts (see handout
“Fine Needle Aspiration”).
9.
10. WHAT IS HISTOLOGY
• Histology is also known as microscopic anatomy or
microanatomy. It is also called study of tissue.
• It is an important part of anatomical pathology and surgical
pathology, as accurate diagnosis of cancer and other diseases
often requires histopathological examination of the tissue sample.
11. HOW HISTOLOGY WORKS
• The five steps of preparing slides for histology are:
1. Fixing
2. Processing
3. Embedding
4. Sectioning
5. Staining
12. THIS IS A LIGHT MICROSCOPE HISTOLOGICAL PREPARATION
OF THE INTESTINAL LINING, STAINED USING HEMATOXYLIN
AND EOSIN
13. USES OF HISTOLOGY
• Histology is used to diagnose diseases in humans, animals, and plants and to
analyze the effects of treatment.
• Histology is used during autopsies and forensic investigations to help understand
unexplained deaths. In some cases, a cause of death may be evident from
microscopic tissue examination.
• Archaeologists use histology to study biological material recovered from
archaeological sites. Bones and teeth are most likely to provide data.
14. SIMILARITIES BETWEEN CYTOLOGY AND
HISTOLOGY
• Cytology and histology are two areas in biology, studying the chemical
composition, structure, and function of different biological units.
• Both study the microscopic anatomy of cells.
• They are important for the diagnosis of diseases.
15. CAREERS IN HISTOLOGY
• A person who prepares tissues for sectioning, cuts them, stains them, and images
them is called a histologist.
• Histologists work in labs and have highly refined skills, used to determine the best
way to cut a sample, how to stain sections to make important structures visible, and
how to image slides using microscopy.
• Laboratory personnel in a histology lab include biomedical scientists, medical
technicians, histology technicians (HT), and histology technologists (HTL).
• The slides and images produced by histologists are examined by medical doctors
called pathologists. Pathologists specialize in identifying abnormal cells and tissues.
