Avoiding air-drying in sputum cytology smears is crucial because air-drying causes cellular distortion, shrinkage, and artifactual changes that can mimic pathology or obscure diagnostic details. When cells dry slowly, they flatten, nuclei may appear larger and more hyperchromatic, and chromatin patterns become blurred, potentially leading to false-positive interpretations of dysplasia or malignancy. Additionally, air-drying reduces the quality of Papanicolaou staining, which relies on wet fixation for optimal nuclear and cytoplasmic differentiation. Immediate fixation in alcohol-based fixatives preserves morphology by rapidly dehydrating cells and preventing drying artifacts. While some concentration techniques tolerate air-drying, wet fixation remains the gold standard for diagnostic accuracy in cytopathology.

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Zambia

• ivwananji siwale – 29 pts

• Visual Pathway Lesions
• Positive and Negative Symptoms
• Hallucinations and Delusions
• Antipsychotic Medications
• Emergency: Environmental Emergencies