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Screening test used to detect potentially pre-cancerous and cancerous processes in the endocervical canal
The Papanicolaou test is a method of cervical screening used to detect potentially precancerous and cancerous processes in the cervix or, more rarely, anus. Abnormal findings are often followed up by more sensitive diagnostic procedures and, if warranted, interventions that aim to prevent progression to cervical cancer. The test was independently invented in the 1920s by the Greek physician Georgios Papanikolaou and named after him. A simplified version of the test was introduced by the Canadian obstetrician Anna Marion Hilliard in 1957. A Pap smear is performed by opening the vagina with a speculum and collecting cells at the outer opening of the cervix at the transformation zone, using an Ayre spatula or a cytobrush. The collected cells are examined under a microscope to look for abnormalities. The test aims to detect potentially precancerous changes caused by human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted DNA virus. Wikipedia