title: Unusual microbial organisms seen in two cervical smears.
abstract: Very infrequently, unusual microbial organisms are encountered in routine cervical Pap tests. We herein report two such cases in two asymptomatic women. Case 1. A Pap smear of a 16-year-old-female showed rare glandular cells with cytologic features consistent with Cytomegalovirus infection. Case 2. A Pap smear of a 36-year-old female exhibited rare fungal organisms characterized by thin septate hyphae branching into secondary branches (metulae) which carried multiple flask-shaped philiades most consistent with Penicillium species that were "most likely representing contamination." We discuss the cytomorphological features and the differential diagnosis and provide a brief review of the literature on these topics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, McGill University and McGill University Health Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Fadi
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Brimo
authors.forename: Lydiai
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ouad
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brodeur
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Charbonneau
authors.forename: Manon
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Auger
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003587:Cytomegalovirus; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000473:pathology*; D004866:Equipment Contamination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D010407:Penicillium; D014623:Vaginal Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D014626:Vaginal Smears