Smears must be fixed immediately before they dry.
A 95% solution of ethyl alcohol or spray fixative
is used to fix the slide. The slides should be labeled in pencil with the patient’s name AND date of birth and a properly completed Pap smear requisition should accompany the slide.
What is the first solution placed on the slide when staining a Pap smear?
The first staining solution contains
haematoxylin which stains cell nuclei
. Papanicolaou used Harris’s hematoxylin in all three formulations of the stain he published. The second staining solution (designated OG-6), contains Orange G in 95% ethyl alcohol with a small amount of phosphotungstic acid.
How soon after preparing the smear should it be placed in the fixative?
The material is transferred to one slide and smeared by placing the second labeled slide on top and pulling the two slides apart, as in a blood smear preparation.
Immediately after preparation (1-3 seconds)
, spray the slides with spray fixative to prevent the cells from undergoing drying or degenerative changes.
What makes a Pap smear unsatisfactory?
The most common reasons included insufficient endocervical epithelial cells, excessive smear thickness, cells obscured with numerous inflammatory elements and erythrocytes, and
sample inadequacy due to the presence of foreign material, poor fixation or staining
.
What is wet fixation?
1 For wet fixation numerous fixatives are used in exfoliative cytology of which 95% ethyl alcohol is most commonly used one. 2 The commonly practiced method is to dip the freshly spread FNAC smear
immediately
in 95% ethanol. 3 Other methods of smear fixation includes spray fixatives.
Why must a Pap slide be stained before it is evaluated?
The principle of pap stain is
to clearly distinguish between basophilic and acidophilic cell components and obtain a detailed chromatin pattern
. The pap stain has 3 solutions having 6 dyes.
What are the steps of a Pap smear?
Pap test. In a Pap test, your
doctor uses a vaginal speculum to hold your vaginal walls apart and to see the cervix
. Next, a sample of cells from your cervix is collected using a small cone-shaped brush and a tiny plastic spatula (1 and 2).
Which fixative is used in Pap stain?
Various fixatives are used in exfoliative cytology. Out of which,
95% ethanol
is the commonly used fixative. Hence, the conventional method for fixation of Pap smear is to fix the Pap smear immediately in 95% ethyl alcohol after preparing the smear.
What is the most critical step in the PAP staining?
As a limitation of this study, we should mention that UF-PAP stain is very sensitive technique, thus
air-drying
is a critical step. Also, due to the omission of O-G-6 in UF-PAP method, this method cannot be used for the diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma.
How do I know if my Pap smear is normal?
A normal, also called negative, Pap smear result indicates that
no evidence of abnormal cells were found in the sample
. An abnormal, or positive, result on a Pap smear indicates that abnormal cells were detected in the sample and additional treatment or testing may be necessary.
What does it mean when your Pap smear is inconclusive?
Inconclusive results mean
that some cells aren’t typical, but there’s no clear diagnosis
. The report on your Pap smear usually says you have one of two types: ASCUS (atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance) or AGCUS (atypical glandular cells of undetermined significance).
What does a failed Pap smear mean?
Most often, the abnormal test result means there
have been cell changes caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV)
. That’s the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI), and can be linked to cervical cancer.
Why do I have to repeat my Pap smear?
You might need more frequent testing if: you’re
at high risk of cervical cancer
. you’ve had abnormal Pap test results in the past. you have a weakened immune system or are HIV-positive.
What are the types of fixation?
- Crosslinking fixatives – aldehydes. Crosslinking fixatives act by creating covalent chemical bonds between proteins in tissue. …
- Precipitating fixatives – alcohols. …
- Oxidizing agents. …
- Mercurials. …
- Picrates. …
- HOPE fixative.
Why do we fix cytological specimen?
Immediate fixation of cytology specimens is
critical to the preservation of the cellular components
. It is important that no air-drying occurs prior to fixation. If a smear is already air- dried it should NOT be put in alcohol fixative.
What is dry smear?
A new dry smear-
rehydration technic
is described. Slides prepared in such a manner invariably contained greater numbers of cellular elements. This method greatly reduces the large “wash-off” loss observed by us (and others) when slides are prepared by wet fixation.
