Cervical-vaginal spatula

Claim 1

A cervical sampling scraper comprising a planar body including a stem and means for scraping the wall of the cervical canal in the region of the transition zone to obtain a sampling of cells of endocervical origin, said scraping means including a wedge shaped protuberance, the protuberance projecting from one end of the stem, the protuberance including a rounded distal tip, the tip having a diameter approximating the diameter of a normal cervical canal at the cervical portio, the protuberance further including a first straight lateral scraping edge being coincident with an edge of the stem, a second scraping edge extending from the tip at a diverging angle of at least 12° from the first scraping edge and terminating at a base portion of the protuberance, the scraping edges being spaced from one another at the base of the protuberance a distance approximating twice the diameter of the normal cervical canal at the cervical portio and the protuberance extending from the tip to the base a distance of at least one centimeter, limiting means for controlling depth of penetration of the protuberance into the cervical canal, said limiting means including a supportive web projecting laterally from the step adjacent the protuberance, said web having a squamous sampling edge extending substantially transverse to the axis of the stem, said sampling edge having a concave portion being coterminous with the second diverging scraping edge, whereby the protuberance may be fully inserted into and effectively distend a cervical canal with the exertion of a minimal wedge pressure to scrape a deposit of endocervical cell material from the cervical wall with the sampling edge cradling the cervical lip to simultaneously remove a deposit of the squamous material upon rotative manipulation of the stem.