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THE SEXUAL CYCLE IN THE HUMAN FEMALE AS REVEALED BY VAGINAL SMEARS 1

GEORGE N. PAPANICOLAOU

Department of Anatomy, Cornell University Medical College, and Woman’s Hospital, New York City

THREE FIGURES AND TEN PLATES (EIGHTY-ONE FIGURES)

I. INTRODUCTION

The study of the female sexual functions in mammals has been greatly stimulated and advanced in recent years by the application of the vaginal smear method. This method, as originally applied to the guinea pig by Stockard and Papanicolaou in 1917, consists in the microscopic examination of smears prepared at frequent intervals from the fluid content of the vagina. The vaginal fluid usually has a mucous con- sistency and contains a variety of desquamated cells, as well as leucocytes, lymphocytes, often erythrocytes, and a large number of bacteria. As the relative number and the distribu- tion of these elements change periodically, smears prepared from such fluid show modifications in their composition and structure. The successive alternation of periods of sexual activity and inactivity, which characterizes the mammals, imparts to the vaginal fluid a rhythmical sequence of typical cellular stages which can be easily recognized.

These cyclic changes affect the entire genital tract, and, consequently, every change in the vaginal fluid is strictly correlated With corresponding changes in the other organs of the female genital system, particularly the uterus and the ovaries. The time of ovulation may be accurately detected

‘This work has been aided by the Committee for Research on Sex Problems of the National Research Council, and by the National Committee on Maternal Health.

THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ANATOMY, VOL. 52, No. 3, SUPPLEMENT MAY, 1933