Large cytology sample chamber for distributing material onto a microscope slide

A unitary disposable cytological sample chamber for receiving a sample of biological material in a liquid suspension and distributing said biological material onto a microscope slide during centrifugation of said suspension in said chamber in a centrifuge, said chamber comprising a sample holding portion, a liquid suspension-receiving funnel through which said sample is directed into said holding portion of said chamber, a generally flat, solid flange member defining a support surface and having a discharge opening in said flange member in communication with said holding portion, said holding portion having a pair of spaced vertical sidewalls, a bottom wall, a back wall spaced from said opening and a plurality of vertically spaced baffle plate members generally parallel to said bottom wall, each of said baffle plate members being supported from said back wall and alternatingly one or the other of said sidewalls, whereby as said liquid suspension sample is introduced into said chamber said sample flows from said funnel sequentially across each of said spaced baffles to reach said bottom wall permitting some of said biological material to be deposited on said baffles and, when said chamber is centrifuged, said deposited material is centrifugally transported through said discharge opening and distributed onto said microscope slide from said baffles.

In a centrifuge including a plurality of sample holders mounted on a rotating carrier, each said sample holder having clamping means releasably receiving a cytology chamber containing a liquid suspension of biological material therein and a microscope slide against said chamber, the improvement comprising:

• said cytology chamber having a liquid sample-receiving funnel leading to a sample holding portion and a generally flat flange having a discharge opening therethrough from said holding portion for mating with one surface of a microscope slide wherein said holding portion includes baffle means for directing said sample along a tortuous path of surfaces in said holding portion upon which said biological material may settle until said chamber is centrifuged, whereby said biological material is centrifugally transported through said discharge opening and distributed onto said microscope slide.