Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iranian Journal of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology 1735-1502 14 1 2015 02 15 12 18 EN Esmaeil Mortaz Chronic Respiratory Diseases Research Center and National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (NRITLD), Department of Immunology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran AND Division of Pharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands AND Airways Disease Section, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK. Hoda Gudarzi Chronic Respiratory Diseases Research Center and National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (NRITLD), Department of Immunology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Payam Tabarsi Clinical Tuberculosis and Epidemiology Research Center, National Research and Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (NRITLD), Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Ian M Adcock AirwaysDisease Section, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK. Mohamad Reza Masjedi Chronic Respiratory Diseases Research Center and National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (NRITLD), Department of Immunology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Hamid Reza Jamaati Chronic Respiratory Diseases Research Center and National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (NRITLD), Department of Immunology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Johan Garssen Division of Pharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands AND Department of Immunology, Nutricia Research, Utrecht, The Netherlands. Ali Akbar Velayati Mycobacteriology Research Center (MRC) National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and lung diseases (NRITLD), Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Frank A Redegeld Division of Pharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands. 2015 10 16 The use of flow cytometry in the clinical laboratory has grown substantially in the past decade. Flow cytometric analysis provides a rapid qualitative and quantitative description of multiple characteristics of individual cells. For example, it is possible to detect the cell size and granularity, aspects of DNA and RNA content and the presence of cell surface and nuclear markers which are used to characterize the phenotype of single cells. Flow cytometry has been used for the immunophenotyping of a variety of specimens including whole blood, bone marrow, serous cavity fluids, (cerebrospinal fluid) CSF, urine and all types of body fluids. The technique has also been applied to human bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid, peritoneal fluids and blood. In this review, we describe the current status of the application of flow cytometry as a diagnostic tool in various lung diseases. We focus on the analysis of BAL cell composition in chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD), asthma, lung cancer, sarcoidosis, tuberculosis and idiopathic eosinophilic pneumonia (IEP). https://ijaai.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijaai/article/view/417 https://ijaai.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijaai/article/download/417/420