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Updated: Aug 10, 2026

Preparation and Using Phantom Lesions to Practice Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsies
Published on: September 29, 2009
Survey of smear taking practice in the former North Thames region
1Department of Histopathology and Cytology, Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK.
Abstract:
One hundred and seventy-seven doctors and 161 nurses from 230 clinics responded to a questionnaire on smear taking practice. The responses show that 66% of smear takers use the Aylesbury spatula and 30% use the Ayre spatula. A total of 53% use a cytobrush for selected cases. Training of smear takers and preparation of smears was satisfactory. Most (but not all) smear takers routinely record clinical information on the request form. Only 20 cytology laboratories in the North Thames region (70%) provide additional feedback to the smear takers about the quality of their smears apart from the information on the request form. Our study shows that feedback is an area where interaction between the laboratory and smear taker could be encouraged.
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