Detached ciliary tufts. Comparison with intestinal protozoa and a review of the literature.

Abstract

Detached ciliary tufts are structures of doubtful pathologic significance that are normally present in many body fluids. However, their existence is not widely appreciated by pathologists practicing routine laboratory medicine. If they are observed, their practical clinicopathologic importance is that, because of their vigorous ciliary motion in wet mounts, they can imitate ciliated protozoa and pose a diagnostic dilemma. The authors present a brief review of the literature on detached ciliary tufts and a morphologic comparison with the more commonly encountered intestinal protozoa.