A means of performing a Papanicolaou test in which the head of the plastic spatula used to obtain cells from the endocervix is inserted directly into a vial containing a fluid cellular preservative. The vial is spun in the laboratory, and a pellet of pure cells is obtained. This cellular layer is then deposited on a microscope slide and examined for evidence of cellular atypia or frank cancer. The liquid-based cytology differs from traditional cervical cytology in that the contents of the spatula are not smeared directly onto a microscope slide. This reduces the number of specimens received by the laboratory that are unable to be interpreted pathologically.