Papanicolaou stain
Histological staining method / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Papanicolaou stain (also Papanicolaou's stain and Pap stain) is a multichromatic (multicolored) cytological staining technique developed by George Papanicolaou in 1942.[1][2][3] The Papanicolaou stain is one of the most widely used stains in cytology,[1] where it is used to aid pathologists in making a diagnosis. Although most notable for its use in the detection of cervical cancer in the Pap test or Pap smear, it is also used to stain non-gynecological specimen preparations from a variety of bodily secretions and from small needle biopsies of organs and tissues.[4][5] Papanicolaou published three formulations of this stain in 1942, 1954, and 1960.[2]