Abstract
Flow cytometry represents a modern analytical method useful for an assessment of selected cellular subpopulations in suspension (peripheral blood, aspirate of bone marrow, liquid fluid etc. and also in suspensions prepared from non-fixed solid tumors) in clinical and research laboratories. The method provides information on numerous surface or intracellular markers of the analyzed elements at the same time.
The usage of fluorescent monoclonal antibodies against surface or intracellular antigens associated with specific type of cells (T-lymphocytes, B-lymphocytes etc.), with their developmental stage, or with monoclonality (for example antibodies against light chains of immunoglobulins), are the most valuable for the clinical practice. The most important application of flow cytometry in pathology has remained in hematologic malignancies, where this fast and exact method provides, practically in a real time, crucial information for correct diagnosis as well as for the choice of optimal therapy, and subsequently for assessing the effect of the therapy.