In 1943, George Nicholas Papanicolaou and Herbert Traut published their landmark book “Diagnosis of Uterine Cancer by the Vaginal Smear.” It showed that normal and abnormal smears taken from the vagina and cervix could be viewed under the microscope and be correctly classified.

Two years later, the American Cancer Society was established, and this new organization pushed to educate the profession about the Pap Smear Test. In 1946, Papanicolaou’s paper for JAMA on “Diagnostic Value of Exfoliative Cells from Cancerous Tissues” was well received.