Dr. George Papanicolaou: Inventor of the Pap Smear and Father of Modern Cytology

The Pap smear is widely recognized in medicine as the single most successful contributor to cancer screening and preventative care. Women have Dr. George Papanicolaou (1870-1962) to thank for this groundbreaking contribution to their healthcare-a discovery that, fascinatingly, was made incidentally during his study of ovulation cycles in guinea pigs. He found that vaginal smears from his subjects with cervical cancer, or those who later developed the disease, yielded abnormal cells that were notably discernible under a microscope when compared to healthy cells. Dr. Papanicolaou, both a physician and scientist, was a devoted researcher who conducted revolutionary studies alongside his wife at Cornell University for nearly 50 years. This paper will highlight the course of Dr. Papanicolau's life, how he found himself searching for his niche in the world of medicine and then scientific research, leading to his incidental discovery of the efficacy of the Pap smear in cancer screening and preventative measures. Dr. Papanicolau's legacy lives on through the contributions he made to the intersection of women's health with cancer prevention, and his devotion to his research continues to serve the field of medicine, now 50 years after his death.