Cytology of normal and inflamed conjunctivas in dogs and cats.

Conjunctival scrapings from normal dogs and cats were compared with conjunctival scrapings from dogs and cats with conjunctivitis. Normal scrapings usually contained sheets of epithelial cells and small numbers of bacteria. Goblet cells were not seen unless the scraping was made from the fornix. In the absence of other signs of ocular disease, an occasional leukocyte was considered normal. The changes in scrapings from inflamed conjunctivas included increased numbers of degenerating epithelial cells, fibrin, inflammatory cells, bacteria, and inclusion bodies.