Pap test
A screening test for cervical cancer that involves the microscopic examination of cells collected from the cervix, smeared on a slide, and specially stained. A Pap test can reveal premalignant and malignant changes in the cells, as well as changes that are due to noncancerous conditions, such as inflammation. Named after the physician George Papanicolaou, who developed the test. Also known as Pap smear.
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- Pap test, ThinPrep
A modified Pap test technique designed to reduce some of the technical problems inherent in the traditional type of Pap smear. In the traditional Pap test, cell samples are obtained from the vagina, cervix, and cervical canal and spread on a glass slide. In the ThinPrep Pap test, cell samples are collected using a special […]
- Papilla, cancer of
Cancer of a structure called the papilla or ampulla of Vater, a small muscle located at the junction where the common bile duct (carrying bile from the liver and secretions from the pancreas) empties into the duodenum (upper small intestine). Because of its location, this cancer can cause obstruction of the common bile duct and […]
- Papilla, fungiform
Broad, flat structures that house taste buds in the central portion of the dorsum (back) of the tongue. Fungiform papillae were once thought to resemble little mushrooms.
- Papillary muscle
A small muscle within the heart that anchors the heart valves. The anchor ropes are the chordae tendineae, thread-like bands of fibrous tissue that attach on one end to the edges of the tricuspid and mitral valves of the heart and on the other end to the papillary muscles.
- Papillary renal cell carcinoma
A type of kidney cancer that accounts for 15 to 20% of renal carcinomas. It occurs in both sporadic and familial forms. Hereditary papillary renal carcinoma is characterized by the development of multiple papillary tumors in both kidneys. The pattern of inheritance is consistent with autosomal dominant transmission with reduced penetrance. The disorder is distinct […]