Aurel A. Babeș (11 December 1886 – 7 August 1962) was a Romanian scientist and one of the discoverers of the vaginal smear as screening test for cervical cancer.
[3] After attending Gheorghe Lazăr High School, Babeș enrolled in 1905 at the Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, graduating in 1911.
After specializing in pathology, he was appointed in 1921 assistant lecturer in the gynecological clinic at Colțea Hospital headed by Constantin Daniel (1876–1973).
His method of cancer diagnosis was published in a French medical journal, La Presse Médicale, on 11 April 1928,[8] but it is unlikely that Papanikolaou was aware of it.
In a spirit of recognition and fairness, Romania refers to cervical testing as "Méthode Babeș–Papanicolaou" in honor of Babeș.