The adequate Papanicolaou smear revisited.
The reliance on the Papanicolaou smear as a screening and diagnostic test for uterine cancer and its precursors infers that appraisal of the specimen's adequacy is based upon a uniform standard of quality. The presence or absence of endocervical cells in cervical samples has been suggested as one measure of a specimen's adequacy. Not all Cytologists are satisfied with the reliability of this criterion, however. On-going studies are indicated to determine those factors which are critical to the evaluation of the adequacy of these specimens.
D000328:Adult; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D011247:Pregnancy; D011786:Quality Control; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D014626:Vaginal Smears / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*