Bronchial washings for cytological examination

This application note provides information on specific application methods and the use of Hettich products.

Excerpt:

Slide preparation of bronchial washings for cytological examination

Bronchial washing is the flushing of the respiratory tract with a physiological saline solution. This procedure is used to derive cellular material and/or any invaded foreign bodies for examination under a microscope.

Bronchial washings from healthy non-smokers comprise approximately 90% macrophages and a maximum of 15% lymphocytes, up to 3% granulocytes, and 0.5% eosinophils. A washing is rich in cells and in most cases, also contains mucus. In patients with certain diseases, this cellular constitution changes and provides valuable information to aid diagnosis.

The presence of inhaled foreign bodies such as asbestos particles and pathogens (e.g., tubercle bacteria and pneumocystis carinii in patients with AIDS) can be detected directly.

Therefore, cytological preparations are derived from bronchial washings for the diagnosis of a large number of pulmonary and respiratory diseases. The preparations are generally stained immunocytochemically or by using Pappenheim’s staining method.

Hettich products are designed to help you achieve optimal results for your application and are built to perform to the specifications outlined in the operators manual. For application-specific information and settings, please refer to your organization’s standard operating procedure. As always, our Hettich representatives are here to help determine which Hettich products and/or accessories best fit your laboratory requirements.