biopsy

noun

bi·​op·​sy ˈbī-ˌäp-sē 

plural biopsies

: the removal and examination of tissue, cells, or fluids from the living body

biopsy transitive verb

Did you know?

Matter examined in a biopsy is always taken from a living organism. Most biopsies are done by using a needle to extract tissue or fluid, but some may instead require cutting, and others may amount to nothing more than swabbing the inside of the patient's cheek. Biopsies are best known as a means of detecting cancer, but a doctor may also take a biopsy of heart muscle to investigate suspected heart disease, for example, or perform a biopsy on a pregnant woman to test for disorders in the fetus.

Examples of biopsy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Muriel, meanwhile, asks Hope to drive her to her biopsy, and Hope locks down her emotions to keep things as normal as possible for her friend. —Sara Netzley, EW.com, 19 Dec. 2024

Eventually, a biopsy showed that Doan had a large tumor in his liver. —Ingfei Chen, The New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2024

After a biopsy, Fischer received her breast cancer diagnosis on Dec. 1, 2023. —Lauryn Overhultz, Fox News, 21 Oct. 2024

To get a clearer picture of how pollution impacts whale sharks, the researchers collected skin samples and tissue biopsies from the whale sharks and used underwater ultrasound scanners to gauge body condition. —Melissa Cristina Marquez, Forbes, 8 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

International Scientific Vocabulary bi- entry 2 + -opsy (as in autopsy)

First Known Use

1887, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

biopsy

noun

bi·​op·​sy ˈbī-ˌäp-sē 

plural biopsies

: the removal and examination of tissue, cells, or fluids from the living body

Medical Definition

biopsy

1 of 2 noun

bi·​op·​sy ˈbī-ˌäp-sē 

plural biopsies

: the removal and examination of tissue, cells, or fluids from the living body

biopsy

2 of 2 transitive verb

biopsied; biopsying

: to perform a biopsy on

the intestinal polyps were removed and biopsied