Lymph node smears in the diagnosis of lymphadenopathy: a review.

By P. F. LUCAS E XCISION of a lymph node has for many years been the final arl)it.er in the diagnosis of lymphadenopathy. This often leads to considerable expense and delay in treatment because general anesthesia and admission to hospital may be necessary, apart from the time taken to fix and stain sections. The imiiportance of establishing a diagnosis before treatmenthas led to increasing use of aspiration and punch biopsies by a variety of different technics. All these methods have