Liquid-Based Pap Test on 57-Year-Old Post-Menopausal Woman

by Marianna Sandomirsky, MD, Resident, Saint Louis University School of Medicine

Editor: Brian T. Collins, MD, Professor of Pathology, University of Utah, and Medical Director, Cytopathology, ARUP Laboratories

The patient is a 57 year old, post-menopausal woman with a history of hysterectomy for an unprovided reason. No previous cervical smear sample is available for comparison.

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Cytopathology Findings

Conventional Pap smear shows the following:

  • Groups of tightly crowded small to intermediate sized cells with nuclear molding and occasional single dispersed cells.(fig. 1).
  • Chromatin is mostly finely granular with occasional hyperchromasia and inconspicuous nucleoli. (fig. 2).
  • The cytoplasm is extremely scant, resulting in high nuclear to cytoplasmic ratio.(fig. 3).
  • Frequent apoptotic bodies and occasional mitotic figures are noted.(fig. 4).
  • The background is bloody with diathesis and brisk acute inflammation

Final Diagnosis & Discussion

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