Neoplastic cells may be seen in urine sediments of patients with tumors of the urinary tract.
Transitional cell carcinomas arising in the urinary bladder or urethra are most likely to
spontaneously exfoliate, but cannot be ruled out based on a failure to identify malignant cells
in urine. Rarely, lymphomas and renal carcinomas also can be diagnosed from urine
sediment.
The pictures shown are from a case of transitional cell carcinoma in the bladder of a dog. Though the presence of neoplastic cells may be suspected on examination of unstained wet-mounts (upper panel), evaluation of air-dried sediment smears or cytocentrifuge preps stained with hematologic stains (lower panel) is necessary for confirmation. In the case shown here, the cytologic criteria of malignancy are clearly fulfilled; in other cases a distinction from hyperplastic cells cannot be made with certainty without a tissue biopsy. |
Last Updated: January 16, 1996