A Day in the Life of a Pap Smear

Cytopathology is a medical practice that specializes in the microscopic examination of cells to detect abnormalities or cancer. The best known cytopathology test is the Pap Smear. This is a screening test used to detect cancerous or pre-cancerous changes of the cervix.

Your doctor will insert a speculum that opens the walls of the vagina to show the cervix. Cells are gently taken from this area with a small brush or spatula. The cells are then spread onto a labeled glass slide, sprayed with a fixative and sent to Calgary Laboratory Services.

When the Pap smear arrives at the laboratory, the patient information on the requisition is checked to ensure it matches the information on the slide. Each slide and requisition is given a unique specimen identification number.

The slides are stained using a special combination of dyes that colour the cells so they can be viewed under the microscope. Each slide is covered with a thin glass coverslip to preserve the stained cellular material.

Pap smear slides are screened by cytotechnologists who specialize in the detection of abnormal cells. A pathologist interprets the significance of these cells. Pathologists are physicians who specialize in the origin, nature, cause and development of disease.

An average of 800 Pap smear slides are received every day at Calgary Laboratory Services.

Since its invention in the 1930s, the Pap test has become the most important test for the detection of pre-cancerous cells and cancer of the cervix. In Canada alone, the incidence of invasive cancer of the cervix has dropped from 21.8% in 1969 to 8.3% in 1998. This is mainly due to the early detection of abnormalities by the Pap test.