Some Reflections in Relation to the Famous “Clue Cell”

Abstract

The term “clue cell” has always caught my attention. When I was studying medicine, it was applied to those cells of the female genital tract that, after being stained with the Papanicolaou method, allowed a reliable diagnosis of Gardnerella vaginalis infection to be made through microscopic examination. It was a cell detached from the squamous epithelium of the vagina, generally superficial, “colonized” by short bacillary bacterial elements