George Nicholas #Papanicolaou was a #Greek-American #cytologist and #pathologist who devised the…

George Nicholas #Papanicolaou was a #Greek-American #cytologist and #pathologist who devised the test now known as the '#PapSmear'.

#Cancer of the #uterus and #cervix can be detected by smearing #mucus secretions on a #microscope slide, and examining the stained cells for abnormalities indicating cancer.

A few years after receiving his M.D. in Greece, he emigrated to the U.S. with his wife, landing on Ellis Island on 19 Sep 1913. He shortly thereafter became a medical assistant in New York and turned to research. As early as 1923, he had started using his smear technique. He recognised it as an easily performed #screening test for cancer, which he announced at a 1928 medical conference. It was initially received with scepticism, but its widespread use began in the early 1950s.

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