Women should have a Pap smear test done at least once per year. A doctor, physician assistant, nurse midwife or nurse practitioner administers the exam. Women are asked to remove their clothing or at least undress from the waist down and cover up...
Pap smears are often performed as part of a normal gynecolgical exam to look for signs and risk factors for cervical cancer. With a Pap smear, a cotton swab is inserted into the vagina and brushed up against the cervix in order to get a sampling...
Once considered the leading killer among women, cervical cancer is no longer the menacing threat it used to be. And Pap smears are largely the reason why. In fact, the American Cancer Society credits Pap smears with slashing cervical cancer deaths...
According to the National Institutes of Health, colonoscopy and papanicolaou smear are routine tests used to screen for cancer. A colonoscopy is mainly used to screen for colorectal cancer, while a papanicolaou test or Pap smear is used to screen...
The American Cancer Society recommends getting yearly pap smear tests done at age 21 or within three years after you become sexually active, whichever comes first. The pap smear test, done alone, will not test for HPV (Human Papillomavirus) but...
Sodium metabisulfite is an inorganic compound often used as a disinfectant, antioxidant or preservative agent. Sodium metabisulfite is often used in the medical community to help test for a disease known as sickle cell anemia. This compound is...
A pap smear is a test to detect changes in the cells of your cervix. The National Cancer Institute estimates that about 55 million pap smears are done annually in the United States. Of those, about 3.5 million or 6 percent, are abnormal and...
The Pap smear test, a way for doctors to check for signs of cervical cancer, is a routine part of most gynecological annual exams. Since the Pap smear test began to be implemented 50 years ago, it has greatly reduced the cases of cervical cancer...
Your doctor has several methods to detect colon cancer in both its precancerous and cancerous stages, making this disease easier to treat. ColoScreen is one of these methods, and its results may help determine if a colonoscopy is necessary. Two...
The goal of an annual Pap smear is a test of a sample of the cervix using a swab or smear that is sent to a clinical lab for testing. The test looks for abnormal cells of the cervix that may be precancerous. If detection of precancerous cells...
Pap smears are a common screening test that can be used to detect changes in the cervix that may lead to cervical cancer. One of the main causes of cervical cancer is an infection with the human papillomavirus, also known as HPV. As a result, many...
The pap smear is a laboratory test that is performed on cervical cells to determine whether cellular changes are present. These changes can indicate a precancerous condition or the presence of cancer in the female reproductive tract....
Gynecologists (GYNs) perform many tests to diagnose problems within the female reproductive system; some are done yearly, others are done only if needed. Many diseases can be diagnosed by tests done in the gynecologist's office; most tests involve...
A pap test or pap smear is a test that physicians use to look for changes in the cells of the cervix, the opening of the uterus that sits at the top of the vagina. During a pap test, a physician or nurse practitioner will collect sample cervical...
A Pap smear test is used to screen women for cervical cancer; it looks at cells on the surface of the cervix. It is normally performed as part of a routine gynecological exam. The cervix is at the back of the vagina and connects the vagina and the...
Tuberculosis is an infection by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The HIV/AIDS pandemic has fueled the resurgence of the disease and the widespread occurrence of drug resistance. The most common presentation is an infection of the lungs, called...
A pap smear is an examination performed by a doctor to check for abnormalities in the cervix. The examination is helpful for detecting precancerous or cancerous cells in the cervix. Early detection of cancer cells increases the chances of...
The Pap smear is a test used to distinguish normal cells from abnormal cells in the cervix. During a pelvic exam, a physician scrapes some cells from your cervix and smears them on a slide, and then sends it to a lab for analysis. Abnormalities...
A pap test, also called a pap smear, is a test performed as part of the regular gynecological checkups a woman receives. This important test is quick and painless and can detect the signs of cervical cancer by taking a sample of the cervix tissue....
A Pap test, or Pap smear, is a test that checks for precancerous changes or cancer cells in the cervix. According to the American Cancer Society, cervical cancer is typically slow growing, so regular Pap tests can pick up any gradual cellular...
Pap smears are commonly done during gynecological exams. This test involves the gynecologist using a swab to get a sample of some of the cells which are on the surface of the cervix. These cells can then be examined to see if they are abnormal....
A pap smear is a test of cells from your cervix to screen for cervical cancer. A healthy, normal cervix has squamous cells on its surface and glandular cells at its opening. Abnormal cell types found in a pap smear include atypical squamous cells,...
Abnormal Pap smears and yeast infections are two common findings during routine gynecologic exams, according to the Encyclopedia of Family Health. Although both are common, they can be a source of consternation for women. Even though the Pap smear...
Cervical cancer kills around 4,000 women each year, with 10,000 more women receiving a diagnosis of cervical cancer every year in the United States, according to 2009 data provided by MayoClinic.com. Because early cervical cancer symptoms are...
The cervix is the opening of the uterus and is located in the upper end of the vagina. Cervical dysplasia is a medical condition that occurs when the cells of the cervix change. This abnormal change typically stems from an infection to the cervix....
Cervical dysplasia refers to the abnormal growth of cells on the cervix. The abnormal cells are classified into low-grade or high-grade lesions. The Pap smear test was designed to assess for cervical dysplasia, also known as cervical...
Cervical cancer affects the neck of the uterus. There are two forms of survival cancer, but the most common is known as squamous cell cancer and develops in the cells that cover the cervix. Cervical cancer is often only detected as a result of a...
A pap smear is a gynecological test designed to detect premalignant and malignant processes in the cervix and uterus. Get tips and advice on preventing, diagnosing, and treating cervical and uterine cancer in this medical video.