FNA Lung abscess

Direct smear of Fine Needle Aspiration biopsy sample of lung mass stained with Papanicolaou The same field of the smear was examined by both transmitted light microscopy and epifluorescence using an I3 filter block with blue excitation (bandpass filter 450-490, dichromatic mirror 510, longpass filter 515). The two images were then fused using Adobe Photoshop software The background of this image shows necrotic debris, numerous acute inflammatory cells and clumps of bacteria (fuzzy red brown areas). Microbiologic culture showed the bacteria to be Streptococcus anginosus. The features of a bacterial abscess are overlaid by bright yellow green lines which are the elastic fibers of the lung demonstrating autofluorescence under blue band excitation. The elastic fibers are relatively well preserved in the lung tissue which is undergoing liquefactive necrosis as a result of the bacterial infection. Image width 675 microns