The wet mount and Gram stain of vaginal secretions from a patient who has bacterial vaginosis caused by Gardnerella vaginalis will reveal

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Gardnerella are small, pleomorphic gram-variable or gram-negative coccobacilli and short rods. The wet mount and Gram stain of vaginal secretions are key tests for diagnosing bacterial vaginosis caused by G. vaginalis. A wet mount prepared in saline reveals the characteristic "clue cells," which are large, squamous epithelial cells with numerous attached small rods. A Gram-stained smear of the discharge shows the attached organisms to be gram-variable coccobacilli. Clue cells typically are present, and large numbers of gram-positive rods (i.e., lactobacilli) representing normal vaginal flora are absent or few in number.

The Wet Mount and Gram Stain of Vaginal Secretions from a Patient