page_title: Colposcopy
section_title: Indications
hierarchical_section_title: Colposcopy / Indications
caption_attribution_description: English: Illustration demonstrating a colposcopy. Español: Ilustración que demuestra el procedimiento de una colposcopia.
context_page_description: Colposcopy is a medical diagnostic procedure to examine an illuminated, magnified view of the cervix as well as the vagina and vulva. Many pre-malignant lesions and malignant lesions in these areas have discernible characteristics that can be detected through the examination. It is done using a colposcope, which provides a magnified view of the areas, allowing the colposcopist to visually distinguish normal from abnormal appearing tissue and take directed biopsies for further pathological examination. The main goal of colposcopy is to prevent cervical cancer by detecting and treating precancerous lesions early. The procedure was developed by the German physician Hans Hinselmann, with help from Eduard Wirths. The development of colposcopy involved experimentation on Jewish inmates from Auschwitz.
  A specialized colposcope equipped with a camera is used in examining and collecting evidence for victims of rape and sexual assault.
context_section_description: Most women undergo a colposcopic examination to further investigate a cytological abnormality on their Pap smears. Other indications for a patient to have a colposcopy include: 
  assessment of diethylstilbestrol (DES) exposure in utero,
  immunosuppression such as HIV infection, or an organ transplant patient
  an abnormal appearance of the cervix as noted by a primary care provider
  as a part of a sexual assault forensic examination
  Many physicians base their current evaluation and treatment decisions on the report "Evidence-Based Consensus Recommendations for Colposcopy Practice for Cervical Cancer Prevention in the United States", developed by the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology, most recently in 2017.
  Colposcopy is not generally performed for persons treated for cervical cancer if their pap tests show low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion or less.  Unless the person has a visible lesion, colposcopy for this population does not detect a recurrence of cancer.
caption: An illustration of a colposcopy procedure.
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