GEORGIOS PAPANIKOLAOU

GEORGIOS PAPANIKOLAOU

Papanikolaou was born in Kymi, Greece and studied at the University of Athens, where he received his medical degree in 1904.He then studied in Munich where  he received his Ph.D.In 1910, Papanikolaou  returned to Athens and got married to Andromahi Mavrogeni and then departed for Monaco where he worked for the Oceanographic Institute of Monaco, participating in the Oceanographic Exploration Team of the Prince of Monaco.

In 1913 he emigrated to the U.S. in order to work in the department of Pathology of New York Hospital and the Department of Anatomy at the Cornell Medical College.

He first reported that uterine cancer could be diagnosed by means of a vaginal smear in 1928, but the importance of his work was not recognized until the publication, together with Herbert Frederick Traut (1894 – 1963), of Diagnosis of Uterine Cancer by the Vaginal Smear in 1943. 

At a 1928 medical conference in Battle Creek, Michigan, Papanicolaou introduced his low-cost, easily performed screening test for early detection of cancerous and precancerous cells. However, this potential medical breakthrough was initially met with scepticism.

He  became known for his invention of the Papanicolaou test, commonly known as the Pap smear or Pap test, which is used worldwide for the detection and prevention of cervical cancer and other cytologic diseases of the female reproductive system which has saved many women.

1.Where was Georgios Papanikolaou born?

a. Athens

b. Thessaloniki

c. Kymi

d. Crete

2. He studied in

a. Athens

b. Munich

c. USA

d. all the above

3. He is known for his

a. writing

b. smear test

c. travels

d. poems