While the Pap was invented in the 1940s and involves inspecting cervical cells for precancerous or cancerous shifts, in the ...

During a Pap smear the most uncomfortable part will be when the doctor inserts a speculum into your vagina. However, the pain should be minimal and brief. Peter Dazeley/Getty Images A Pap smear is a ...

The guidelines, published Jan. 5 by the Health Resources and Services Administration, now recommend that average-risk women ...

During a Pap smear, the medical provider swabs the patient's cervix to collect a cell sample. The cell sample is then sent to a lab, where pathologists analyze the sample under a microscope to check ...

Dr. Carla Picardo wants to clear up the confusion about pap smears. A pap smear is a routine procedure to test for cervical cancer in women. Cells are collected from a woman's cervix — the lower, ...

New federal guidance is expanding testing for cervical cancer with a self-collection method. Dr. Mara Gordon speaks to NPR about why this option might become popular for screening for HPV.

I was 23 when I had my first pap smear, and I didn’t even know what the procedure tested for. While out one Saturday evening with three of my girlfriends, I sat in silence as they discussed their most ...

The most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States (an astounding 42.5 percent of U.S. adults between 18 and 59 reported an HPV infection between 2013 and 2014, according to the ...

If a person receives a positive human papillomavirus (HPV) result from a Pap smear, they need a colposcopy to confirm the diagnosis. This is a minimally invasive procedure that healthcare ...

A Pap smear is a procedure that screens for cervical cancer by testing cells for any abnormalities. If your Pap results are abnormal that does not mean you have cancer, and more likely indicates HPV.