Wet Mount Preparation

Vaginal Wet Mount

• Materials

  • Pelvic exam: Speculum, speculum lubricant, speculum light, cotton swab

  • Wet mount: Saline solution, KOH solution, two microscope slides, one slide cover slip

• Procedure

  • Perform pelvic exam and swab cervix

  • Place swab in test tube with 0.5 cc saline and stir to create a suspension

  • Using cotton swab, smear dime-sized amount of the suspension on each microscope slide

    • Add 1-2 drops KOH solution to the first slide and perform whiff test

    • Add cover slip to the second slide and observe under microscope on 40x magnification

Potential Microscopy Findings - Saline Preparation

• Normal

  • Squamous epithelial cells

  • Erythrocytes

  • PMNs (polymorphonuclear leukocytes): May be abnormal if present in excessive numbers

  • Sperm cells

• Abnormal

  • Yeast (sometimes seen more easily on KOH prep as the solution lyses other cellular components)

  • Clue cells: Squamous epithelial cells with > 75% of border covered with bacteria that may indicate bacterial vaginosis

  • Trichomonads: Approximately the size of PMNs and identified by characteristic jerking movement