A method for the early detection of cancer and other abnormalities of the female genital tract, especially of the
cervix and
uterus, employing exfoliated cells (cells that have been shed into vaginal fluid) and a special staining technique for microscopic examination that differentiates diseased
tissue. Also known as Papanicolaou Smear after George Papanicolaou, the American cytologist who developed this method and published it in 1943. See also
Cervix;
Uterus.