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The synovial fluid cytology service of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) is located at the Manchester Cytology Centre, 1st floor of Clinical Sciences Building 2, Oxford Road Campus.
It is the largest unit of its kind in the country providing cervical screening using the ThinPrep Based Cytology System and a wide variety of non-gynaecological cytology services.
The osteoarticular pathology service by synovial fluid analysis began in April 2011. Synovial fluid analysis is of greatest value in distinguishing inflammatory from non inflammatory arthropathies and in defining specific disorders within these two groups. It is also important in the diagnosis of early inflammatory disease where it might be possible on the basis of cytology to identify a specific arthropathy before the clinical syndrome develops. In these cases accurate early diagnosis often allows the institution of specific therapy before irreversible joint damage has occurred. Finally, it permits the very rapid diagnosis of joint disease, particularly in disorders such as septic arthritis, where the prognosis is inversely related to delay in diagnosis.
The department has ISO 15189:2022 accreditation, and is an approved IBMS training centre. We are closely associated with the North of England Pathology and Screening Education Centre (NEPSEC) and provide training to medics and scientific staff. We are fully committed to maintaining this accreditation by an established quality management system and standards determined by the Royal College of Pathologists together with scheduled clinical and quality audits and national guidelines.
(Last reviewed February 2025)