What is a cytologist?

A cytologist, also called a cytotechnologist, analyzes slides of human cells under a microscope. In this career, you analyze a cell and check to see if it is abnormal; this includes looking for cancer or infection. Your responsibilities include analyzing cells from skin, the reproductive tract, digestive tract, or other areas of the body, prepare the slides and screen the specimen for bacteria or viruses, and document your findings. These may include pre-cancerous cells, inflamed tissue, or infectious diseases. While your work is crucial to determining the diagnosis for the patient, you do not diagnose the problem; you report your findings to a pathologist for the final analysis and diagnosis.