Size and Appearance of Cellular Elements from Reading Gram Stained Direct Smears, presented by MediaLab

Reading and Reporting Direct Smears

Size and Appearance of Cellular Elements

Epithelial cells are larger than white blood cells and red blood cells, and contain a single nucleus.
White blood cells (pus cells) usually show a segmented nucleus.
Red blood cells are 1/2 to 2/3 as large as white blood cells, contain no nucleus, and are gram negative.
Hyphae are gram positive tubular filamentous fungal elements which may show branching or intertwining.
Yeast cells are round to oval, often budding, gram positive fungal elements, about the same size as RBCs. They are generally much larger than bacteria.

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