A pelvic exam is a routine and common physical exam used to check for signs of disease in female organs. A healthcare provider will check the vagina, uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes and cervix. During a pelvic exam, the healthcare provider may do a Pap smear to test for cancer. Contents Overview Test Details Additional Common Questions.

Pap and HPV Cotesting. Women’s health care professionals now know that almost all cases of cervical cancer are caused by long-lasting infection with certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV). 1,2 What you need to know is few women who become infected with HPV will develop cervical cancer 1-3, and regular screening can identify HPV infection and precancerous changes in cervical cells that A speculum is not required for collecting vaginal fluid samples for these tests. 17 Several studies have demonstrated a strong correlation between samples from patient self-collected swabs and The following figure, of a proestrus smear, shows a group of intermediate cells associated with neutrophils and red blood cells. Finally, bacteria are often seen on vaginal smears in huge numbers, covering cells and spilling onto the background. The minute dark specks covering the superfical cells in the image below are bacteria.

The Cervical Screening Test is a simple process look for signs of the human papillomavirus (HPV) – a common infection that causes most cervical cancers. Most cases of HPV clear up on their own, however, sometimes it can develop into cancer. Doing the Cervical Screening Test every 5 years means your healthcare provider can monitor or

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blood on pap smear swab