Modern Medical Laboratory Journal

Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and cervical cancer are major health problems faced by women worldwide. The conventional Papanicolaou (Pap) smear analysis is an effective method to diagnose cervical pre-malignant and malignant conditions by analyzing swab images. Pap smear tests for the presence of precancerous or cancerous cells on your cervix. The cervix is the opening of the uterus. During the routine procedure, cells from your cervix are gently scraped away and examined for abnormal growth. It involves examining cells taken from the cervix under a microscope. The test doesn't diagnose cancer, but rather looks for abnormal cervical changes (cervical dysplasia)—precancerous or cancerous cells that could indicate cancer. If any are found, further testing, such as a colposcopy or biopsy, will be done in order to diagnose cancer. The test is named after George Papanicolaou, the Greek doctor who invented the procedure in the early 1940s.
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