Word parts
What it means
A cytology test checks loose cells taken from the body for infection, inflammation or cancer. The cells may come from a scraping (a Pap test of the cervix), from a body fluid (urine, sputum, fluid from a thoracentesisthor-uh-sen-TEE-sisA procedure in which a needle is passed through the chest wall to remove fluid or air from the space around a lung.thorac/o chest-centesis puncture to remove fluidFull entry ) or through a fine needle. It differs from histology, which looks at whole pieces of tissue. The word is built from cyt/oSY-tohA word part that means cell.Full entry and -logyLUH-jeeA word ending that means the study of something.Full entry .
For the nurse
Label the specimen carefully, use the container and preservative the lab asks for, and send it promptly. For sputum cytology, an early-morning sample coughed up from deep in the lungs works best.