[Herpes oesophagitis: cytological diagnosis of a rare viral disease (author's transl)].

During gastroscopy on a 75-year-old man because of bleeding from the upper gastro-intestinal tract, a white wallpaper-like covering was noted along the whole length of the oesophagus. Cytology of smears demonstrated typical cellular structure of Herpes, characterized by multinuclear cells with pale, flattened opaque glass-like nuclei. Subsequently the patient died of other organic complications.