摘要：Summary. The paper describes a fundamental feature of digital cytology relevant to the implementation
of the technology in the hospital net services: the electronic recording of the virtual
slides (VS) in the hospital information system (HIS) through a picture archiving and communication
system (PACS). Starting from the digital cytology (D-CYT) state of art and considering the
most important products in the field, particular attention has been devoted in this review to the
comparison with the digital radiology (D-RAD). Two main indications emerged from the study: 1.
there is not a standard in the digital files relevant to the virtual slides in D-CYT, while in D-RAD the
standard digital imaging and communications in medicine (DICOM), introduced by the National
Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), has been adopted from several years; 2. the PACS
in D-CYT are not standardized from manufacturers. The study makes a proposal of a useful software
architecture to improve the PACS integration for D-CYT applications, with potentialities in
the HIS
关键词：Key words: telemedicine, digital cytology, tele-pathology.
