The Direct Microscopic Somatic Cell Count is a modification of the Breed technique in which 0.01 ml of milk sample is spread over a circular 1 cm2 area on a special slide, and is dried, stained, and examined microscopically using the oil-immersion lens. The unit of area examined is a diametric strip of the milk film, traversed by manipulation of the mechanical stage controls. A special eyepiece reticle defines the width of the strip. All nucleated somatic cells within the strip are counted. The estimate of cellular concentration in the milk sample is based on the count of two mutually perpendicular strips on each of duplicate films. The method permits both determination and close control of count precision.