Biopsies are a way for doctors to make diagnoses, especially of cancers.
A biopsy is a medical procedure to remove a small piece of tissue or sample of cells from the body for physical (through a microscope) or chemical examination.
A biopsy can be conducted on any area of the body, and is the only diagnostic technique able to definitively identify cancerous tissue and cells.
Why Are Biopsies Conducted?
Biopsies are usually conducted to identify cancerous tissue, but they can also test for other health issues.
For example:
- Liver biopsies candiagnose hepatitis C,cirrhosis(liver scarring), and infections
- Kidney biopsies can examine the condition of a kidney with kidney failure or inflammation
- Nerve biopsies can examine nerve damage and inflammatory nerve conditions
- 肌肉活组织检查可以诊断肌肉的感染和缺陷，以及结缔组织和血管的疾病
- Skin biopsies can test for changes in skin conditions, such as moles
- Biopsies of thegastrointestinaltract may detect suspected inflammatory bowel conditions, includingCrohn's diseaseandulcerative colitis
Types of Biopsy Procedures
Biopsy procedures can be differentiated into a few broad categories: needle, open, closed, and skin.
Needle biopsies, sometimes called percutaneous biopsies, remove tissue or cells using needle devices, which differ depending on the type and amount of sample needed.
Fine-needle aspiration biopsies use a very thin needle — smaller than those used to draw blood — attached to a syringe.
It can remove a small amount of fluid and tiny pieces of tissue, and sometimes must be inserted numerous times to acquire enough samples for testing.
Core needle biopsies use a needle with a larger "core," or hollow space, which is able to draw out an entire column of tissue.
它们通常用局部麻醉完成，有时与真空动力仪器结合使用，该仪器使用压力拔出更多组织。
To take deep tissue samples, needle biopsies are guided with imaging techniques, such as ultrasounds, computerized tomography (CT) scans, andmagnetic resonance imaging (MRI)scans.
Open biopsies remove tissue using open surgery, or incisions into the skin and body. They're conducted under anesthesia.
Closed biopsies, or endoscopic biopsies, take tissue samples withendoscopes, which are thin, flexible tubes with a light and camera at the end.
The endoscopes may be inserted into the mouth, rectum, or urinary tract, or through a small incision (smaller than that of an open biopsy).
Special cutting tools are passed through the endoscope to collect tissue samples.
Skin (cutaneous) biopsies remove cells from the surface of the body, such as by scraping the skin, cutting out small or large areas of skin, or using an instrument to punch a hole through the skin.
