Images in Clinical Medicine

Arrowwood Contaminant in Pap Smear

Tunde A. Farkas, M.D.

N Engl J Med 2005; 352:e20May 26, 2005

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Article

This harmless arrowwood contaminant was seen in a routine cervical smear of a young woman. Arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum) grows in the eastern and midwestern regions of the United States and Canada. The stellate structure has thick, transparent walls and stains a pinkish-gold color with the Papanicolaou smear. It is very fragile and is seen intact infrequently. Plant hairs (trichomes) originate from many different trees and are sometimes seen in Papanicolaou smears during the spring and summer.

Tunde A. Farkas, M.D.
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104