Significant hormonal changes in patterns of lipid granules in vaginal exfoliated cells

In vaginal exfoliative cytology, the routine Papanicolaou and Shorr's staining procedures do not reliably indicate the post-ovulatory phase. An experimental study of 100 female albino rats and a clinical study of 190 women was initiated to establish an easier method for identifying the post-ovulatory phase. It was found that the appearance of intracytoplasmic lipid granules in vaginal cells stained by Oil Red 0 may serve as a sensitive indicator of the post-ovulatory phase.