Type of Preparation: SurePath/ LBP Magnification: High Adequacy Description: NILM. Squamous metaplasia Cytomorphologic Criteria: Squamous metaplastic cells with a polygonal to elongated cellular appearance, dense cytoplasm and benign nuclei. Explanatory Notes: The presence of squamous metaplastic cells indicates that the transformation zone has probably been adequately sampled. This is one of the quality indicators for specimen adequacy (a minimum of 10 well-preserved endocervical or metaplastic cells is required: cells do not need to be in groups).