Type of Preparation: ThinPrep/ LBP Magnification: High Clinical History: 45 year old perimenopausal woman, routine exam Interpretation: NILM: Lactobacilli Cytomorphologic Criteria: Lactobacilli and occasional cytolysis. Bacteria get more dispersed in liquid preparations and the background is thus cleaner. (contrast with lower right inset from a conventional smear). Explanatory Notes: In determining specimen adequacy, nuclear preservation and visualization are of key importance, and changes such as cytolysis and partial obscuring of cytoplasmic detail may not necessarily interfere with specimen evaluation. This specimen is satisfactory for evaluation. Abundant cytolysis(>~50%) may be mentioned as a quality indicator, but most such specimens do not qualify as unsatisfactory unless nearly all of the nuclei are devoid of cytoplasm.