Abstract

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections of the genital tract frequently involve cervical epithelium and produce a macroscopically flat lesion that the authors have called noncondylomatous cervical wart virus infection (NCWVI). Over a 6-month period, 92 of 7281 routine cervical smears (1.3%) and 46 of 183 colposcopically directed punch biopsies (25%) showed morphologic evidence of wart virus infection. The etiologic role of HPV was confirmed by the demonstration of virus particles in 24 of 53 cases (45%) examined by electron microscopy. The colposcopic features of NCWVI consist principally of epithelial opacity and vascular atypia, leading to frequent confusion with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. Differences in surface contour, color, vascular patterns, and topography generally permit colposcopic differentiation. These 2 conditions sometimes coexist; whether the association is causal or casual in not presently known.