Scanning electron microscopy in oral cytology

Area of Science:

• Oral pathology
• Cell biology
• Scanning electron microscopy

Background:

• Oral mucosal cells exhibit distinct morphological features under scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
• Changes in cell surface morphology are indicative of various oral lesions, including dysplasia and cancer.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the utility of SEM in characterizing oral mucosal cells.
• To differentiate between normal, dysplastic, and cancerous oral epithelial cells using SEM.

Main Methods:

• SEM analysis of 63 oral mucosal cell smears.
• Comparison of SEM findings with light microscopy of biopsies.
• Inclusion of healthy controls and patients with squamous cell carcinoma, severe epithelial dysplasia, and other mucosal lesions.

Main Results:

• Healthy controls showed distinct superficial, intermediate, and parabasal cells with characteristic microridges and microvilli.
• Squamous cell carcinoma smears revealed enlarged, polymorphous cells with irregular microvilli distribution.
• Dysplastic cells exhibited polymorphous features with discontinuous edges and irregular surface structures.

Conclusions:

• SEM is a reliable method for analyzing oral mucosal cell morphology.
• SEM effectively distinguishes between dysplastic and tumoral cells in oral lesions.
• SEM provides valuable insights into cellular changes associated with oral mucosal diseases.