| abstract |
A biopsy system for harvesting tissue samples from a suspect tissue mass in a body of a living being, e.g. in percutaneous aspiration biopsy, comprises a hollow needle (50) and a sample-receiving device (52), which is movable in the hollow needle. A first user-operable firing mechanism (110) is provided for causing the hollow needle and the sample-receiving device to be substantially simultaneously displaced in a distal direction, so as to penetrate body tissue at or near the suspect tissue mass. A second user-operable firing mechanism (112) may cause the hollow needle solely to be longitudinally displaced in a distal direction from a position, in which the sample-receiving device (52) projects from the distal end of the hollow needle (50), to a position, in which the hollow needle essentially accommodates the sample-receiving device, so as to sever said tissue sample from remaining body tissue at the harvesting site. |