Background : Cytological analyses of  body effusions  plays an important role in the diagnosis of various lesions.

Material & Methods : A retrospective study for one year duration from  Jan 2016 to Dec 2016 was undertaken in the Department of Pathology. It includes all samples of pleural, ascitic & pericardial fluid received in cytology section.

Results : Cytological analysis was done on all 284 cases of effusion fluids. Pleural fluid was the most common type of fluid received followed by peritoneal & pericardial fluids. Maximum number of cases were transudates in nature. 257 cases were non neoplastic & 27 were neoplastic. Adenocarcinoma was the most common morphological pattern.

Conclusion : Cytological study of body fluids is an inexpensive & simple procedure, useful in studying the etiology, course of disease and also to monitor the response to the therapy