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Veterinary cytology

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courses

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Whether you're new to the field or looking to expand your expertise, these courses offer valuable insights and practical knowledge to enhance your skills in veterinary cytology. Explore this page to find the course that best suits your needs and take the next step in your professional development.

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books

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A section dedicated to my books on veterinary cytology. Three fundamental manuals, translated into various languages, ideal for both young veterinarians who are approaching cytology for the first time and experienced professionals who wish to further deepen their knowledge.

Differential diagnosis of body fluids
differential diagnosis skin book
differential diagnosis russian book
Veterinary cytology book chinese cian

case of the month

Case of the month is a series of challenging cytology cases presented by a few veterinary clinical pathologists.

February25
January25
neutered female DSH cat
November24
October24
September24
Horse
Dog_2
Dog_4
Dog_3
Dog_1
Ferret

cytology pills

cytopill

Cytopill is the section that provides you an insight in the cytology world and practical tips for your daily diagnostic work.

The great pretender
Cytopills tumour regress
Cytopill species cytology
cytopill

name the cells

Name the cells is the section that will help you to easily recognise all cell types that are present in cytology samples.

name cells ckcs dog palate lesion
name the cells peritoneal fluid
Name the cell - 04
Name the cell - 03
Name the cell - 02
Name the cell Bronohoalveolar lavage

videos

My YouTube channel with a series of webinars with cytology and hematology cases.

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articles

A collection of over 30 cytology and haematology cases for you to read and to solve.

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Solution

First of all, let me tell you that this lesion is a cutaneous histiocytoma, and the other one is a plasma cell tumour.

What are the elements that suggest a cutaneous histiocytoma in this picture? I would say mainly the lightly basophilic cytoplasm, the sometimes poorly defined cytoplasmic borders, and the mostly round but occasionally indented nuclei. We also have a mitotic figure on the top right, which is not uncommon as histiocytes may display some degree of atypia. What we are missing from the typical histiocytoma appearance are the blue background and the nucleus localisation, which should theoretically be paracentral, but in this case is mainly eccentric (as more typically seen in plasma cells)

What are the elements that suggest a cutaneous plasma cell tumour in this picture? First of all, the cytoplasm is deeply blue, with defined borders and infrequent clear perinuclear halo; nuclei are eccentric and round, as typically seen for plasma cells.

In case you are unable to provide a definitive differential diagnosis, I always recommend highlighting your main differentials (either verbally to your colleagues or written in the comment section of the cytology report). Having a histiocytoma and a plasma cell tumour (both benign lesions) in the differential list is less concerning than having a histiocytoma and a lymphoma, the latter being a malignant tumour. If you are unsure, ask for support from colleagues who are more expert than you on the subject (e.g.  external diagnostic laboratories). If the diagnosis is still uncertain, there are further investigations that can be conducted, from immunocytochemistry to histopathology, which can help to achieve a final diagnosis.

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