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Pap test

A screening test for cervical cancer based on the examination under the microscope of cells collected from the cervix, smeared on a slide and specially stained to reveal premalignant (before cancer) and malignant (cancer) changes as well as changes due to noncancerous conditions such as inflammation from infections. Also called a Pap smear. The Pap technique was developed by and named after George Papanicolaou (1883-1962), a Greek-born physician and scientist who moved to the U.S. In 1923, while looking at vaginal smears from women with cervical cancer, Papanicolaou saw cancer cells. After two decades of research on this subject, he reported in 1943 that both cervical and uterine cancer could be detected in their early stages with this test that has, since its inception, saved innumerable lives.

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see Papanicolaou test

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Papanicolaou test an exfoliative cytological staining procedure for detection and diagnosis of various conditions, particularly malignant and premalignant conditions of the female genital tract (cancer of the vagina, cervix, or endometrium). Cells that have been desquamated from the genital epithelium are obtained by smears, fixed and stained, and examined under the microscope for evidence of pathologic changes. The test is also used in detection of human papillomavirus infection, evaluation of endocrine function, and diagnosis of malignancies of other organs, such as the breast or organs of the respiratory tract and lungs, gastrointestinal tract, or urinary tract. Called also Pap or Papanicolaou smear. See also Papanicolaou stain, at Stains and Staining Methods under stain.

Medical dictionary. 2011.