What do parabasal cells mean?

Parabasal cells are the smallest epithelial cells seen on a typical vaginal smear. They are round or nearly round and have a high nuclear to cytoplasmic ratio. Parabasal cells are prevalent on smears taken during diestrus and anestrus, and not uncommon during early proestrus.

What does atrophic pattern mean in Pap smear?

Sometimes after menopause or when breast feeding there are ‘atrophic changes’ in the cervix, caused by decreased hormone levels. If your Pap smear result is ‘atrophic’ you may be given some local oestrogen treatment (for example, oestrogen cream) and asked to have the Pap smear repeated in three months.

Does atypical squamous cells mean cancer?

A finding of abnormal cells in a Pap test. It means there are abnormal squamous cells in the tissue that lines the outer part of the cervix. Atypical squamous cells, cannot exclude a high-grade lesion may be a sign of a high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL), which may become cervical cancer if untreated.

What is negative for intraepithelial lesion or malignancy?

Negative for Intraepithelial Lesion or Malignancy (NILM): The Pap test revealed no abnormal cell changes. All squamous and glandular cells seen have normal-appearing cellular material. Recommendations will vary depending on your individual risk factors.

Are parabasal cells normal?

Parabasal Squamous Cells The round- to oval-shaped cell is 318-706 µm in size. The dense homogenous basophilic cytoplasm encloses a 50 µm nucleus. The nuclear detail reveals a finely granular chromatin. Parabasals are an uncommon finding on Pap smears of women with estrogen production or replacement hormone.

How do I read my Pap smear results?

A Pap test result can be normal, unclear, or abnormal.

  1. Normal. A normal (or “negative”) result means that no cell changes were found on your cervix.
  2. Unclear (ASC-US) It is common for test results to come back unclear.
  3. Abnormal. An abnormal result means that cell changes were found on your cervix.
  4. Negative.
  5. Positive.

What are atrophic cells?

Atrophy is defined as a decrease in the size of a tissue or organ due to cellular shrinkage; the decrease in cell size is caused by the loss of organelles, cytoplasm and proteins.

What causes atypical squamous cells Pap smear?

Atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance is the most common abnormal finding in a Pap test. It may be a sign of infection with certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV) or other types of infection, such as a yeast infection.

What does atypical squamous cells on cervix mean?

Atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US) ASC-US means that changes in the cervical cells have been found. The changes are almost always a sign of an HPV infection. ASC-US is the most common abnormal Pap test result.

Is intraepithelial lesion HPV?

They are usually caused by infection with certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV) and are found when a Pap test or biopsy is done. Low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions usually go away on their own without treatment, but sometimes they can become cancer and spread into nearby tissue.

What causes parabasal cells?

Parabasals are an uncommon finding on Pap smears of women with estrogen production or replacement hormone. These cells are often seen in patients who lack estrogen, including those who are premenstrual, post partum, taking estrogen-restricting hormones, or postmenopausal.