The Importance of a Pap Test

   The Papanicolaou test (also called Pap smear, Pap test, cervical smear, or smear test) is a screening test used in gynecology to detect premalignant and malignant (cancerous) processes in the ectocervix. Significant changes can be treated, thus preventing cervical cancer. The cervix is the lower part of the uterus (womb) that opens at the top of the vagina.

How the Test is Performed

The Pap smear is done as part of a gynecological exam. You will lie on a table and place your feet in stirrups to position your pelvis for examination. The health care provider will insert an instrument (speculum) into your vagina and open it slightly to see inside the vaginal canal.
The health care provider will take a sample of cells from the outside and just inside the opening of the cervix (cervical canal) 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, or put in a bottle containing a preservative, and then sent to the lab for examination.
Watch Videos:
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/video/pap-smear-12772099
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2010 Overview in Medical System (IV)

• Updated Pneumococcical Vaccine Guidelines
• National Lung Screening Trial  Halted
• Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) introduces first draft
• Oil Spill In the Gulf 
• First Synthetic Cell 
• New Superbug :NDM-1 
• Genetic Link to ADHD

Updated Pneumococcical Vaccine Guidelines

        The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in September updated guidelines for use of the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine in adults. Changes include the recommendation that all persons aged 19 to 64 years with chronic or immunosuppressive medical conditions, including asthma, should receive the vaccine.