What am I looking at?
Visual recognition
Needle with a visible specimen notch near the tip, loaded into a biopsy gun.
15-04
Core biopsy needle
Side-notch cutting needle
Three-panel learning framework
Recognition, context, and distinction
What does it do, and where will I see it?
Use & procedural context
Obtains intact tissue cores for histopathologic diagnosis using a cutting needle with a specimen notch. Typical targets include solid organs, lymph nodes, soft-tissue masses, kidney, liver, and lung lesions.
What most clearly distinguishes it from similar devices?
Key distinctions
The core biopsy needle is the tissue-cutting component that captures an intact histologic specimen, whereas the automated biopsy device is the firing mechanism that drives the needle.