In 1989, the Bethesda System(TBS) was introduced as an attempt to standardize cervical/vaginal reporting systems. TBS nomenclature was created for reporting cytologic diagnoses to replace the currently used Cervical
Intraepithelial
Neoplasia(CIN) and Papanicolaou Class System which are deemed less reproducible. The name for preinvasive squamous lesions was changed to squamous intraepithelial lesion(SIL), subdivided into low-grade and high-grade type. TBS
recommends a specific format for cytologic report, starting with explicit statement on the adequacy of the specimen, followed by general categorization and descriptive diagnosis.
Pathologic and epidemiologic studies performed over last 10 years have provided evidence that human, papillomavirus(HPV) plays a significant role in the development of cervical neoplasia. TBS corresponds not only to currently held views of the
behavior of preinvasive lesions and their HPV distribution, but also to the current guidelines for clinical management.
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