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Pap Smear
Alternate Names : Papanicolaou Test
 See all Pictures & Images
How is the Test Performed?
You will be asked to lie on your back with your feet in the stirrups. A pelvic examination will be done, and a speculum (an instrument used to open the walls of the vaginal canal in order to examine the interior) will be inserted into your vagina and opened slightly.
A sample of cells from the outside and the canal of the cervix is taken by gently scraping the outside of the cervix with a wooden or plastic spatula, then inserting a small brush that looks like a pipe cleaner into the canal.
The cells are placed on a glass slide and sprayed with a fixative, or put in a bottle containing a preservative, then sent to the lab for examination.
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• Definition
• Why is the Test Performed?
• How is the Test Performed?
• How to Prepare for the Test?
• How will the Test Feel?
• Normal Values
• What do Abnormal Results Mean?
• Special Considerations
• Risks
• Pictures & Images
Topics that might be of interest to you Diseases & Conditions
• Cervicitis
Tests & Exams
• Colposcopy - Directed Biopsy
Other Topics
• Cervix
• Vagina
Review Date : 1/18/2002
Reviewed By : Peter Chen, M.D., Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.
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