[Histology and cytology of cervical cancers]. / Histologie et cytologie des cancers du col.

Squamous cell and glandular carcinomas are the two usual forms of cervical cancer. Precancerous and preinvasive lesions must be detected by cervical cancer screening by Pap smears. The Bethesda system is recommended in order to facilitate correlation between cytological and histological diagnosis and to perform the best management of these lesions. Carcinoma in situ and early invasive carcinoma are well known in this situation because of their easy observation. The growing awareness of the role of human papillomavirus with the peculiar cellular modification called koilocytosis, in the carcinogenesis of cervical cancer introduced new possibilities of molecular biology applications.