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Pap testsearch for term

The Pap test has been around since the 1940s. It is used to look for cell changes under a microscope. It has helped decrease the number of American women with cervical cancer by about 75%. It can be administered by your healthcare provider alone or with the HPV test.

Your healthcare provider sends collects Pap cells in one of two ways.

  • For a Pap smear, your healthcare provider puts cervical cells directly on a glass slide for the lab.
  • For a liquid–based Pap, healthcare provider puts cervical cells into a bottle of liquid; the lab then transfers the cells onto a glass slide.

Researchers find that the liquid-based Pap test gives more reliable results.