| 词源 |
Pap test. This simple test can detect cancer of the womb in its early stages, enabling it to be treated before it is too late. Best known as the Pap test, although the more accurate Papanico- laou’s stain and Pap smear are also used, the procedure involves no more than the insertion of a small wooden spatula into the vagina to remove fluid mixed with uterine cells. This fluid is then dyed, spread on a glass slide and examined under the mi- croscope. Few people know that Greek-born American physi- cian George Nicholas Papanicolaou (1883–1962) invented the Pap test, his rather difficult name corrupted to the shortened form and obscuring the fame he so richly deserves. Pap smears can be taken of respiratory, digestive, and genitourinary secre- tions, too. |