"Litigation cells" in the Papanicolaou smear: extramural review of smears by "experts".

This paper presents a historical review of litigation involving false-negative Papanicolaou smears. The impact of the look back provision of the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 and the media attention focused on false-negative Papanicolaou smears is discussed. The problem types of cervicovaginal smears, including the categories of atypical squamous and/or glandular cells of undetermined significance, are also described.