MODEL RELEASED. General practice nurse performing a cervical smear test at a well woman clinic. In her right had the nurse is holding a duck-bill or Cusco's speculum which is used to hold the vagina open during the examination. It is lubricated and inserted into the vagina with its bill" closed (as seen here). The bill is then opened to allow examination of the cervix (the neck of the womb). The Ayres spatula in the nurse's left hand is then used to scrape a specimen of cellular material from the cervix. The specimen is smeared onto a slide and sent to the laboratory where it is examined for abnormal cells which may indicate a developing cervical cancer. Model: Kay Roycroft."