[Cytodiagnosis of the uterine portio vaginalis according to WHO nomenclature. I. Correlative revision of cytological and histological diagnoses as quality control of selected materials. Frequency and possible reasons for the lack of correlation of cytological and histological diagnoses].

Smears from the uterine cervix have been evaluated for neoplastic changes on the basis of descriptive terms. The material was obtained by a single gynecologist using a standardized sampling technique and the results were compared with the respective histological diagnoses. Material which was found to be unsuitable for technical reasons was excluded from this study. A 98.7% agreement between cytological and histological findings was noted. Discrepancies between cytological and histological findings were essentially due to differing dysplastic changes in the deeper layers of the surface epithelium and the cervical glands, which were not sampled by the smears on the surface layer. In a few cases the discrepancies could not be explained but they disappeared after several years of observation. The practitioner should be acquainted with the nomenclature used by cytologists. In his turn, the cytologist should be familiar with the pathological anatomy of the organ in question.