Biopsy

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here

Learn More

• Specifics

See, Play and Learn

• Videos and Tutorials

Research

• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Patient Handouts

Summary

A biopsy is a procedure that removes cells or tissue from your body. A doctor called a pathologist looks at the cells or tissue under a microscope to check for damage or disease. The pathologist may also do other tests on it.

Biopsies can be done on all parts of the body. In most cases, a biopsy is the only test that can tell for sure if a suspicious area is cancer. But biopsies are performed for many other reasons too.

There are different types of biopsies. A needle biopsy removes tissue with a needle passed through your skin to the site of the problem. Other kinds of biopsies may require surgery.

Start Here

• Biopsies - Overview (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
• Biopsy and Cytology Tests (American Cancer Society)
• Biopsy: Types of Biopsy Procedures Used to Diagnose Cancer (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• Bone Biopsy (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
• Bone Marrow Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Breast Biopsy (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Colposcopy (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Kidney Biopsy (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
• Liver Biopsy (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish
• Needle Biopsy (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Needle Biopsy of the Lung (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
• Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Skin Biopsy (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Skin Biopsy (VisualDX)
• Ultrasound- and MRI-Guided Prostate Biopsy (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
• Ultrasound-Guided Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy of the Thyroid (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish

Videos and Tutorials

• From Biopsy to Diagnosis (College of American Pathologists)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Frequency of Skin Biopsies for Psoriasis by Race and Ethnicity.
• Article: Critical importance of correctly defining and reporting secondary endpoints when assessing...
• Article: Racial Disparities in Breast Imaging Wait Times Before and After the...
• Biopsy -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• American Cancer Society
• National Cancer Institute Also in Spanish
• RadiologyInfo (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish

Children

• Biopsies (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Liver Biopsy (North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition) - PDF Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Biopsy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Bone marrow biopsy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Colposcopy - directed biopsy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Gastric tissue biopsy and culture (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Lung needle biopsy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish