Tzanck Smear
Pronunciation: TZANK smeer
A rapid cytological test in which cells scraped from a vesicle base are stained to detect multinucleated giant cells indicative of herpesvirus infection.
Full Definition
The Tzanck smear, named after Russian-French dermatologist Arnault Tzanck, involves scraping the base of a fresh vesicle, spreading the material on a glass slide, and staining it (typically with Giemsa or Wright stain) to identify multinucleated acantholytic giant cells. A positive result suggests herpes simplex virus or varicella-zoster virus infection but does not differentiate between the two. Editors should note the capitalisation: 'Tzanck' is always capitalised as an eponymous term. Some documents hyphenate 'Tzanck smear' incorrectly as 'Tzanck-smear'; no hyphen is required.
Usage
Usage note: Always capitalise 'Tzanck' as an eponym. The term requires no hyphen. Distinguish from Papanicolaou (Pap) smear, which is used in gynaecological cytology.
In Context
- "A Tzanck smear of the vesicle base demonstrated multinucleated giant cells consistent with herpesvirus." — Dermatology inpatient note
- "The author wrote 'tzanck smear' in lowercase; the editor restored the capital 'T' per eponym convention." — Proofreading correction