The case in favour of using a stained smear technique for the recognition of Trichomonas vaginalis in clinic practice was admirably put by Liston and Lees (1940) and reiterated by Harrison (1959). The stains advocated by these authors were Leishman's and Loffler's alkaline methylene blue. Kean and Day (1954) and Oller (1965) favoured the Papanicolaou method, but this does not lend itself to routine clinic use. Whittington (1957) considered the stained smear technique to be unreliable. In late 1964, when examining vaginal smears stained by Gram's method, the author recognized undoubted trichomonads, the nucleus, flagellae, and axostyle being clearly identifiable; thereupon several methods of preparing stained specimens were investigated. The clearest results were finally obtained from smears prepared by dipping a glass rod into a pool of exudate at the posterior fornix, gently rolling the rod on the slide, air fixing, and staining by Gram's method, using 1 per cent. safranine counterstain. This method had been tested by Fowler (1953). Aids to recognition of the parasite were the associated flora, small Gram-negative diplococci, and the long Gram-negative or occasionally positive Leptothrix, mentioned as a clue by Papanicolaou and Wolinska (1955). Their presence is not always indicative of trichomonal infestation as has been shown by Carvalho, Kramer, and Kay (1965); trichomonads may be found with all grades of vaginal smear (Schroder, 1921) with or without Doderlein's bacilli and pus. The trichomonad is Gram-negative, of variable shape, and distinguished by the eccentric lenticular nucleus and vacuolated or foamy cytoplasm. The flagellae are often visible. Epithelial cells are unlikely to be confused with the organism, but a large
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.