Airborne fungal spores, pollen grains, and vegetable cells in routine Papanicolaou smears.
The objective was to demonstrate the presence of airborne fungal spores, pollen grains, and vegetable cells in smears and establish their significance. Microscopic examination was of smears stained by the Papanicolaou technique. We found several types of airborne spores (Alternaria, Exserohilum, Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Epicoccum, Curvularia, and Ascosmycete), pollen grains (Lilium, bullrush, Pinus, Acacia, hazelnut, and oak), and several types of vegetable cells. The existence of these structures may be due to intrinsic or to extrinsic contamination of the sample. Anemophilous fungi spores and pollen grains have been shown to possess great allergenic capacity. Pollen grains and vegetable cells may be mistaken for certain microorganisms or malignant cells.
Martínez-Girón
Rafael
R
Cytopathology, Instituto de Piedras Blancas (Asturias), Piedras Blancas, Spain. rafaelmgiron@terra.es
Ribas-Barceló
Andrés
A
García-Miralles
Maria Teresa
MT
López-Cabanilles
Dolores
D
Tamargo-Peláez
Maria Luisa
ML
Torre-Bayón
Concepción
C
Fernández-Alvarez
Lorena
L
D003581:Cytodiagnosis; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D002523:Edible Grain / Q000166:cytology*; D006801:Humans; D011058:Pollen / Q000166:cytology*; D013048:Specimen Handling; D013172:Spores, Fungal / Q000166:cytology*; D014675:Vegetables / Q000166:cytology*