Introduction

The image shows a direct wet mount prepared from a white vaginal discharge showing pseudohyphae, budding yeast, and human epithelial cells.  Examination of a fresh vaginal discharge provides the simplest and most rapid diagnostic test in aiding presumptive identification of Candida species. 

Methods

The vaginal discharge was collected from a 37-year-old female with dysuria and vulvovaginal pruritus.  The sample was diluted with equal parts of physiologic sterile saline and applied directly to the surface of a slide. A coverslip was placed over the surface of the sample, and excess liquid was blotted from around the edges.

References

1.  Buxton, R. 2007.  Examination of Gram stains of vaginal secretions.  ASM Microbe Library.

2.  Casasone, A., F. De Berrnardis,  and G. Santoni. 2007. Anticandidal immunity and vaginitis: novel opportunities for immune intervention. Infec. Immun. 75:4675–4686.

3.  Gilligan, P. H., M. L. Smiley, and D. S. Shapiro. 1997. Cases in medical microbiology and infectious diseases. p. 2–4. ASM Press, Washington, DC.

4. Jo Baron, E., and S. M. Finegold. 1990. Bailey & Scott´s diagnostic microbiology, p. 66, 263–269. Mosby, St. Louis, MO.