AbstractBackground: Cytological examination of various body fluids like ascitic, pleural, synovial, CSF, urine etc, plays an important role in diagnosing various non- neoplastic and neoplastic conditions. Hence, this study is conducted to evaluate the utility of this simple procedure and to understand the newer techniques that can be applied in further confirming our diagnosis. Materials and Methods: It is a retrospective study conducted on all the body fluids which came for cytological analysis. The fluids were centrifuged, the supernatant was discarded and the sediment was used to make three smears which were stained with Papanicolaou, Hematoxylin and Eosin stains (H&E) and with leishman stain. All the smears were then thoroughly examined. Results: The most common sample received was pleural fluid (55%) with ascitic fluid being the second most common. Chronic inflammation was the most common pathology noted in both the pleural as well as the ascitic fluid. A total of 8 cases showed metastatic deposits which were from adenocarcinoma. The cells showed typical features of malignancy. Conclusion: Cytological analysis of body fluids helps us in differentiating nonneoplastic and neoplastic lesions. Further typing of the neoplastic lesions can be done using special stains and immunohistochemical stains
Keywords: Body Fluids; Cytology; Mesothelial Cells; Neoplastic Cells.