Abstract
Papanicolaou's classification in prevalent use asthe criteria of cytologic diagnosis for female genitalorgans is ambiguous enough to pose many problems.In an attempt to find differences between cells withdifferent types of lesion, i.e. benign change, dysplasiaand carcinoma, cytologic findings were dividedinto features of cell group, cytoplasm and nucleususing cytologic maps and slides worked out by someof the leading investigators in this field, to examineaccording to the descriptions for the maps or ourprivate plan of criteria for the slides whether therewas any difference in the number of features betweendifferent types of lesion.
1. According to the descriptions for the cytologicmaps, there was no substantial different types oflesion with respect to features of cytoplasm. As tonuclear features, nowever, 2 or less factors werefound described for benign lesion, 3 factors for amajority of dysplastic cells and 3 or more factorsfor a majority of carcinomatous cells.
2. In studying the slides, our private plan of criteria was relied on, which was worked out withreference to existing books on cytologic diagnosisand which embraced 4 factors for cell group features, 4 factors for cytoplastic features and 20 factorsfor nuclear features.
3. In the slides there was no substantial difference both as to cell group and cytoplasmic features.A difinite difference was noted, in the number ofnuclear features:2 or less factors for benign lesionand mild dysplasia, 3 factors for a majority ofseverely dysplastic cells and 4 or more factors forcarcinomatous cells.
4. From these results, specimens with one or morefactors for cell group and cytoplasmic features wereregarded as abnormal, on the assumption that normal nucleus denotes 1 or less, abnormal nucleus 2or more, atypical nucleus 3 or more and malignantnucleus 4 or more factors for nuclear features.
5. Baced on this assumption, our tentative planof definition of Papanicolaou's classification wasworked out taking into consideration the relativenumber of abnormal cells to be examined.
