Cervical Cancer Awareness: What is a Colposcopy?

January is cervical cancer awareness month. In this blog post, we discuss "What is a colposcopy?" and why a colposcopy may be performed.

What is a colposcopy?

For women with a history of abnormal pap tests, a colposcopy may be performed to determine the cause of the abnormal test.

A colposcopy is an in-office procedure in which your doctor uses a special magnifying device to look at your vulva, vagina, and cervix.

During the colposcopy, your doctor may take a sample of the cervix or from the inside of the opening of the cervix. This is called a biopsy, and it will be looked at under a microscope to determine if the cells are cancerous.

Why get a colposcopy?

There are a few reasons your doctor may perform a colposcopy. 

He or she may look at the cervix for problem areas when a Pap test was abnormal. If an area of abnormal tissue is found during colposcopy, a cervical biopsy or a biopsy from inside the opening of the cervix (endocervical canal) is usually done.

A colposcopy may be used to check a sore or other problem (such as genital warts) found on or around the vagina and cervix.

Finally, he or she may use a colposcopy to look at the cervix for problem areas if an HPV test shows a high-risk type of HPV is present.

Meet Cervical Cancer Specialists at Penn

Learn more about cervical cancer, and cervical cancer treatment at Penn.