Operational Obstetrics & Gynecology

Wet Mount

This video shows the preparation of glass microscope slides to examine vaginal discharge. Then, it shows the common microscopic findings of normal, yeast, trichomonas, and bacterial vaginosis with clue cells. The free, short version was produced by the US Navy as training for medical personnel in isolated settings. It was included on the Operational Obstetrics & Gynecology CD. It may be freely downloaded. A longer version was produced by the Brookside Associates for civilian training. It is 5-minutes and is available for download. The same video but in high-resolution is available on CD or DVD.   Video Runtime 2:10 23 MB mpg Download Now Wet Mount "Place a small amount of vaginal discharge on a microscope slide." "Add a drop of 10% potassium hydroxide." "Mix the discharge with the KOH." "Add a coverslip and repeat the process on another slide, using normal saline." "Examine the slides under the microscope." "10% KOH is mixed with vaginal discharge, dissolving the cell membranes." "KOH does not dissolve the cell membrane of the yeast organisms." "By focusing the microscope up and down, the branching yeast can be appreciated." "After suspending some vaginal discharge in normal saline, a trichomonad can be seen moving next to a vaginal epithelial cell." "Sometimes, the trichomonad is buried in cellular debris and only the violent motion of the flagella can be seen." "A normal vaginal epithelial cell is transparent and has clear, distinct borders." "In bacterial vaginosis, epithelial cells are studded with bacteria, causing smudging and indistinct borders." "Focusing up and down through a vaginal epithelial cell, bacteria cover the exterior surface of the cell." "This is a "clue cell," characterized by indistinct borders, studding with bacteria, and fewer than expected white blood cells."

Home  ·  Introduction  ·  Medical Support of Women in Field Environments  ·  The Prisoner of War Experience  ·  Routine Care  ·  Pap Smears  ·  Human Papilloma Virus  ·  Contraception  ·  Birth Control Pills  ·  Vulvar Disease  ·  Vaginal Discharge  ·  Abnormal Bleeding  ·  Menstrual Problems  ·  Abdominal Pain  ·  Urination Problems  ·  Menopause  ·  Breast Problems  ·  Sexual Assault  ·  Normal Pregnancy  ·  Abnormal Pregnancy  ·  Normal Labor and Delivery  ·  Problems During Labor and Delivery  ·  Care of the Newborn

This web version of Operational Obstetrics & Gynecology is provided by The Brookside Associates Medical Education Division.  It contains original contents from the official US Navy NAVMEDPUB 6300-2C, but has been reformatted for web access and includes advertising and links that were not present in the original version. This web version has not been approved by the Department of the Navy or the Department of Defense. The presence of any advertising on these pages does not constitute an endorsement of that product or service by either the Department of Defense or the Brookside Associates. The Brookside Associates is a private organization, not affiliated with the United States Department of Defense. All material in this version is unclassified.

This formatting © 2006 Medical Education Division, Brookside Associates, Ltd.
All rights reserved

Other Brookside Products