title: On the Variability in Goblet Cell Density in Human Bulbar Conjunctival Samples Collected by Impression Cytology with Millicell-CM Biopore Membrane Units.
abstract: To assess whether or not the numbers of goblet cells were different across regions of a conjunctival impression cytology (CIC) specimen.
  
  
  
  CIC specimens were obtained from the exposed nasal bulbar conjunctiva from 22 healthy young Caucasian adults, stained with Giemsa and evaluated at a final magnification of 200× (medium power fields). Up to 14 different non-overlapping microscope fields, depending on whether or not a field was without goblet cells, were randomly selected.
  
  
  
  A microscope field could contain between 0 and 145 goblet cells. If only fields that included goblet cells were analyzed, the mean goblet cell counts (22 specimens, 10 fields/specimen) ranged from 37.8 to 44.8/field (equivalent to 259-313 goblet cells/mm2). When 3, 5 or 10 fields were used to calculate average goblet cell counts for each specimen, the standard deviation values were between 15.8/field and 21.7/field, with the lower values obtained if 10 fields were used. The resultant averaged inter-sample variability, as the coefficient of variation (COV), ranged from 40.0% to 57.5%, while the averaged intra-sample variability in counts ranged from 52.1% to 73.9%. If fields without goblet cells were also used, the resultant mean goblet cell count (from 10 fields/specimen) was statistically lower at 33.1/field (232 goblet cells/mm2).
  
  
  
  These analyses confirm various subjective comments made by early CIC investigators; the distribution of goblet cells across a CIC filter may be highly variable.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Vision Sciences , Glasgow-Caledonian University , Glasgow , UK.
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Doughty
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002452:Cell Count; D003228:Conjunctiva / Q000166:cytology*; D003584:Cytological Techniques; D005260:Female; D020397:Goblet Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Bulbar conjunctiva; conjunctival epithelium; goblet cell counts; goblet cell density; human; impression cytology