BIOPSY INSTRUMENT WITH CONTINUOUS TISSUE RECEIVING CHAMBER

摘要

A surgical instrument for excising a targeted tissue mass to be biopsied from ad jacent bodily tissue of a surgical patient is disclosed. The instrument has an elongat ed tube, a penetrating member with first and second tissue stops affixed to the distal end of the elong ated tube, and a tissue cutter mounted concentrically relative to the elongated tube for movement from first to second positions for cutting captured tissue received within a tissue receiving chamber. The first and second tissue stops define the tissue receiving chamber continuously about a 360.degree. arc at the distal end of the elongated tube for receiving the targeted tissue mass therein. Unlike conventional biopsy instruments where tissue is received within a confined lateral receiving port, a significantly larger sample size can be taken within the tissue receiving chamber. The instrum ent is adapted for taking sufficiently sized samples to be biopsied in a minimally invasive manner, minimizing or avoiding trauma adjacent the biopsy site.