Cytopathology of pregnancy-induced cell patterns in cervicovaginal smears.

Considerable interest has been devoted to cytology in pregnancy, especially the morphologic changes that may cause problems in differential diagnosis. It is surprising that the published discussion of the cytologic appearance of smears from pregnant women has been so limited. This review emphasizes that retained trophoblastic tissue may be a source of highly atypical appearing cells in the cervicovaginal cytology obtained under various clinical conditions. Distinguishing between Arias-Stella cells and cells of glandular abnormalities can be problematic, since the morphologic characterization of the former is poor. This review also emphasizes that a full awareness of the morphology of pregnancy as well as of the patient's clinical history are needed for greater precision in diagnosing cell patterns as pregnancy-related and not malignant.