The importance of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the process of cervica
l neoplasia(1.2) suggests that diagnosis of a particular HPV infection
would dictate a particular clinical outcome and hence be useful in pa
tient management. However, the potential value of HPV analysis depends
on the situation in which it is used and the considerations are diffe
rent for cytology and histopathology, which will therefore be consider
ed separately.