WHAT DO THE PAP SMEAR RESULTS MEAN?
The terminology used to describe pap smear results has changed over the past few years, leading to confusion about what the results of your pap smear actually mean. Originally, pap smears were divided into 5 “classes” based on what the cells looked like to the pathologist. Class I was normal, while class II cells appeared a little irregular to the pathologist, usually representing bacterial infection. Class III and IV pap smears suggested that dysplastic cells were present, and further testing needed to be done. Class V usually meant cancer. Unfortunately, this class system led to confusion regarding what “number” pap smear a woman had and what that really meant. Recently, a new system for pap smear classification called the Bethesda System has been introduced. The term “low grade” lesion is now used for cells that appear to be infected with HPV or are only mildly abnormal. “High grade” is the new terminology for more abnormal appearing cells, the type that would have been called class
