Cornflake artifacts are artifacts that commonly occur while the mounted medium starts to evaporate before coverslipping. This study aimed to determine factors contributing to the occurrence of these artifacts in Papanicolaou (Pap) smears. Residual specimens were used after cytology to microscopically evaluate various effects on cornflake artifacts. Four SurePath™ liquid cytology (LBC) cell specimens, diagnosed as negative for intraepithelial lesions or malignancy (NILM), were used. Each LBC smear was subjected to Pap staining under four different conditions (A, without air-drying; B, air-drying after dehydration; C, air-drying after xylene immersion; and D, air-drying after dehydration and xylene immersion) using two methods: conventional and poor dehydration. Cornflake artifacts were not observed in A and B in Pap staining. By contrast, cornflake artifacts were observed in conventional and poor dehydration methods when dried after xylene immersion. When comparing the four conditions, smears B and D, which were both air-dried after dehydration, had fewer cornflake artifacts than smear C, which was air-dried only after xylene. Therefore, the remaining water in the cells due to poor dehydration during xylene immersion is found to result in the development of cornflake artifacts. The present study revealed that cornflake artifacts in Pap smears are caused by poor dehydration in addition to drying before mounting.

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玉米片伪影的原因：可能与巴氏染色前干燥不良有关

玉米片伪影是通常在封片前已安装的介质开始蒸发时出现的伪影。本研究旨在确定导致巴氏涂片中出现这些伪影的因素。细胞学检查后使用残留标本在显微镜下评估对玉米片伪影的各种影响。使用了四个被诊断为上皮内病变或恶性肿瘤 (NILM) 阴性的 SurePath™ 液体细胞学 (LBC) 细胞样本。每个 LBC 涂片在四种不同条件下（A，不风干；B，脱水后风干；C，二甲苯浸泡后风干；D，脱水和二甲苯浸泡后风干）进行巴氏染色。两种方法：常规脱水和差脱水。在巴氏染色的 A 和 B 中未观察到玉米片伪影。相比之下，在二甲苯浸泡后干燥时，在常规和差的脱水方法中观察到玉米片伪影。比较四种情况，在脱水后风干的涂片B和D比仅在二甲苯后风干的涂片C具有更少的玉米片伪影。因此，发现在二甲苯浸泡过程中由于脱水不良而导致细胞中残留的水会导致玉米片伪影的发展。目前的研究表明，巴氏涂片中的玉米片伪影是由于脱水不良以及安装前干燥造成的。仅在二甲苯后风干。因此，发现在二甲苯浸泡过程中由于脱水不良而导致细胞中残留的水会导致玉米片伪影的发展。目前的研究表明，巴氏涂片中的玉米片伪影是由于脱水不良以及安装前干燥造成的。仅在二甲苯后风干。因此，发现在二甲苯浸泡过程中由于脱水不良而导致细胞中残留的水会导致玉米片伪影的发展。目前的研究表明，巴氏涂片中的玉米片伪影是由于脱水不良以及安装前干燥造成的。