Ocular Cytology

Ocular cytology serves as an accurate diagnostic tool in the management of neoplastic and non-neoplastic ocular lesions, offering guidance in clinical management and enabling monitoring of treatment outcomes. This chapter provides fundamental aspects of ocular cytology, highlighting its simplicity, noninvasiveness, and safety in establishing preliminary diagnoses, and its role in reducing unnecessary biopsies. It emphasizes the importance of optimal sampling techniques and specimen handling due to the usually scanty samples. Techniques such as scraping, fine needle aspiration, and impression cytology are discussed in detail, along with their applications in different ocular conditions. Furthermore, the chapter explores the cytomorphology of various ocular malignancies, including basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, sebaceous carcinoma, and intraocular melanoma. It also highlights the role of ocular cytology in diagnosing conditions such as ocular surface squamous neoplasia, vitreoretinal lymphoma, and uveal melanoma, alongside the significance of ancillary molecular tests on small cell samples.