Assessment of Fallopian Tube Cytology for the Diagnosis of Endometriosis and Hydrosalpinx.

Takashi Matsushima, T Matsushima, Hisayuki Kaseki, Kaisuke Ishihara, K. Ishihara, Tsutomu Araki
Journal of Nippon Medical School = Nippon Ika Daigaku zasshi · 2002 · vol. 69(5) , pp. 445–450 · doi:10.1272/jnms.69.445 · PMID:12382004 · W1969342511
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-08 ⓘ

This study developed a safe and reliable intra-fallopian tube cell collection method using laparoscopy and hysteroscopy to aid in diagnosing endometriosis and hydrosalpinx.

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⚙ AI-generated deep summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-09 ⓘ

This study developed an intra-fallopian tube cell collection method using simultaneous laparoscopy and hysteroscopy, then assessed its safety and applicability for diagnosing endometriosis and hydrosalpinx in 20 infertility-clinic volunteer patients. Cells were collected during both procedures, auto-smeared onto slides, Papanicolaou-stained, and evaluated by detailed cytomorphology across groups with normal tubes (n=10), pelvic endometriosis (n=7), and hydrosalpinx (n=3). The authors reported that adequate numbers of well-preserved cells were obtained in each case, with normal samples showing mainly epithelial cells and low inflammatory cells, pelvic endometriosis characterized by many macrophages including hemosiderin-phagocytosing cells, and hydrosalpinx showing an extremely low cellular component; no complications occurred. This paper is centrally about endometriosis — it evaluates fallopian tube cytology features to diagnose pelvic endometriosis (and compares them with hydrosalpinx).

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Abstract

Fallopian tube cytology has been used as a useful tool in the diagnosis of infertility. In this study, we developed an intra-fallopian tube cell collection method with the simultaneous use of a laparoscope and hysteroscope, and examined its safety and applicability for the diagnoses of endometriosis and hydrosalpinx. Fallopian tube cells were collected at laparoscopy and hysteroscopy from 20 volunteer patients who visited the infertility clinic. There were 10 patients with normal fallopian tubes (Group 1), 7 with pelvic endometriosis (Group 2), and 3 with hydrosalpinx (Group 3). The collected cells were fixed onto glass slides using an auto-smear method, stained by the Papanicolaou method and subjected to detailed cytomorphological examinations. In each case, an adequate number of cells with well-preserved morphology for a reliable evaluation was obtained. Cells from normal fallopian tubes were mainly fallopian tube epithelial cells including ciliated columnar cells and secretory cells. The number of inflammatory cells was quite low. A characteristic feature in cases with pelvic endometriosis was the presence of a large number of macrophages, some of which showed hemosiderin phagocytosis. In contrast, cases with hydrosalpinx showed an extremely low cellular component. No complications were found in any of the patients. Our study indicates that the present intra-fallopian tube cell collection method using a laparoscope and hysteroscope is a reliable and safe method that can be applied to the diagnosis of endometriosis, hydrosalpinx, as well as pelvic infertility.

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Condition tags

endometriosisinfertility

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Fallopian Tube Diseases Fallopian Tubes Cytological Techniques Endometriosis Fallopian Tube Diseases Fallopian Tubes Female Humans Infertility, Female Infertility, Female Infertility, Female

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References (16)

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