fecal artifacts Flashcards
feces contains what components
undigested food
digestive byproducts
human cells
secretions from the digestive tract
microorganisms
what are confusers
artifacts in human samples that are responsible for incorrect identification
may be confused with helminth eggs but are bigger than them; interior is unorganized and contains large vacuoles
vegetable cells
resembles taenia; little to no internal structures
pollen
polygonal and flattened
vegetable cell
lacks 6-hooked oncosphere and lacks embryo wall
pollen
may be confused with helminth larvae such as hookworms and strongyloides because of shape and size; no head or tail region
plant hair/fiber
ladder like appearance
vegetable spiral
refractile center; broken at one end; lacks internal structures
plant hair/fiber
confused with helminth larva due to size and shape; no head or tail region
vegetable spiral
may be confused with cryptosporidium spp., cyclospora spp, microsporidia, helminth eggs, or protozoan cysts
yeast
round to irregular round-shape; very refractile
starch cells/ granules
round to oval shape ~4-8um in size; normally present in stool hence reporting is not necessary
yeast
no internal structure or nucleus and can resemble protozoan cysts e. hartmanni and e. nana
starch cells/ granules
undigested starch is what color in iodine staining
blue-black
partially digested starch is what color in iodine staining
red/pink
spherical in shape and resembles protozoan cysts
fat globules
protistan parasites of crayfish; corpora parasitica
beaver bodies
large amount of this can indicate steatorrhea
fat globules
present in stool if crayfish is consumed in significant amounts; resemble helminth ova; no clinical significance
beaver bodies
how many droplets of fat is normal in samples
100 small droplets, <4 um in diameter
how can you tell if it is steatorrhea already
observation of >60 large, 6-75um large droplets per HPO
seen in improperly prepared wet mounts/ slides
air bubbles
rectangular in shape; can or cannot have striations
muscle fiber
