Images in Clinical Medicine
Cytologic Identification of Oocytes in Ovarian-Cyst Aspirates
N Engl J Med 1998; 339:604August 27, 1998
- Article
Figure 1 A 31-year-old woman was receiving gonadotropin stimulation as part of an in vitro fertilization protocol. By day 10 of her menstrual cycle a 5-cm ovarian cyst had developed. The cyst was aspirated transvaginally under sonographic guidance. Cytospin preparations of the specimen were stained with Papanicolaou stain. A single oocyte, approximately 150 μm in diameter, with coarsely granular cytoplasm (yolk) and a barely visible nucleus, was identified (Panel A, ×60). The oocyte had a visible zona pellucida, and a layer of granulosa (i.e., follicular) cells surrounded the oocyte, forming the corona radiata. The granulosa cells had undergone luteinization, as indicated by the finely vacuolated, lipid-laden cytoplasm, reflecting stimulation from exogenous hormones. The same architectural and cellular features are present in a histologic section of a similar oocyte and follicle stained with hematoxylin and eosin (Panel B, ×40).
Ellen Greenebaum, M.D.
College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY 10032
