If you’re familiar with the term cytopathology, then you should know that it is the study of disease at the cellular level. Types of fluid samples, scrapings, and brushings can be used in cytology tests to get data. The cells are examined in these tests to determine whether they look normal or if they have some signs of being diseased. Cytopathology and cytology are often used to refer to the same thing, and these types of reports are crucial when it comes to discovering diseased cells.
How Cytopathology Is Utilized
Cytopathology is utilized as a type of screening test that will give doctors important information. It isn’t uncommon for people to be screened for things like this. One good example is the “pap smear” test that is used to find cellular problems on the cervix. This can help doctors to discover issues even when diseased cells aren’t necessarily present.
Tests like these are imperative for determining what is going on in many cases. There are times when patients will have no noticeable symptoms on the outside. A cytopathology test can help doctors to get the actual information about what is going on so that they can move forward. It’s good for assisting doctors with diagnosing problems, and it can also be used to help sample cells from something like a tumor.
The Process of Cytopathology
The Cytopathology process isn’t overly complicated, and you should be able to understand the gist of how things start. Most tests are going to involve taking some type of sample to examine from a specimen. This often involves urine samples or other types of bodily fluids. You can extract cells from growths by using needles so that you can examine the cells more thoroughly, too.
Experts concentrate the cells on slides so that they can take a look at what is going on. They meticulously go over the cells to determine whether there are abnormalities or signs of disease. Powerful microscopes are used, and this data is then passed on to physicians so that they can figure out what to do. Now that you know how cytopathology works, it should be easier to see how crucial it is in the field of medicine.