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.
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web On Saturday, health officials said Legionella bacteria was identified in tests of four samples — three respiratory and a biopsy from one of the people who died. 
Dennis Romero, NBC News, 3 Sep. 2022 This new liquid biopsy technique distinguishes people without Parkinson’s to people who have this disorder. William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 17 Aug. 2022 Be present for my wife in the days leading up to her kidney biopsy. Nick Fuller Googins, Men's Health, 17 Aug. 2022 Nicole Hazen underwent a battery of tests, including multiple MRIs, before a biopsy provided the definitive diagnosis in July of 2020. Jeremy Cluff, The Arizona Republic, 4 Aug. 2022 A week later, a second biopsy indicated that about 40 percent of the heart muscle cells in the transplant were dead or dying, even though there were still no indications of rejection in the tissue. John Timmer, Ars Technica, 24 June 2022 During a skin biopsy, your doctor will numb your skin and use a small tool to take a sample of your skin cells, which can then be looked at under a microscope. Eleesha Lockett, SELF, 17 June 2022 If standard testing fails to make the diagnosis, the usual suggested diagnostic test is a muscle biopsy. Dr. Keith Roach, oregonlive, 13 June 2022 The darts can be used either to immobilize the bears or to simply collect a small piece of tissue for a genetic biopsy (the dart falls to the ice and can be retrieved later). Evan Bush, NBC News, 16 June 2022 See More
Dennis Romero, NBC News, 3 Sep. 2022 This new liquid biopsy technique distinguishes people without Parkinson’s to people who have this disorder. William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 17 Aug. 2022 Be present for my wife in the days leading up to her kidney biopsy. Nick Fuller Googins, Men's Health, 17 Aug. 2022 Nicole Hazen underwent a battery of tests, including multiple MRIs, before a biopsy provided the definitive diagnosis in July of 2020. Jeremy Cluff, The Arizona Republic, 4 Aug. 2022 A week later, a second biopsy indicated that about 40 percent of the heart muscle cells in the transplant were dead or dying, even though there were still no indications of rejection in the tissue. John Timmer, Ars Technica, 24 June 2022 During a skin biopsy, your doctor will numb your skin and use a small tool to take a sample of your skin cells, which can then be looked at under a microscope. Eleesha Lockett, SELF, 17 June 2022 If standard testing fails to make the diagnosis, the usual suggested diagnostic test is a muscle biopsy. Dr. Keith Roach, oregonlive, 13 June 2022 The darts can be used either to immobilize the bears or to simply collect a small piece of tissue for a genetic biopsy (the dart falls to the ice and can be retrieved later). Evan Bush, NBC News, 16 June 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
International Scientific Vocabulary bi- entry 2 + -opsy (as in autopsy)
First Known Use
1887, in the meaning defined above
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 2transitive verb
biopsied; biopsying
: to perform a biopsy on
the intestinal polyps were removed and biopsied
biopsy
noun
as in vivisection
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- vivisection
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- autopsy
- necropsy
- dissection
- postmortem
- postmortem examination
- out-country
- out-front
- out-group
- out-Herod
- out-heroded
- out-heroding
- out-herods
- out-lot
- out-migrant
- out-migrants
- out-migrate
- out-migrated
- out-migrates
- out-migrating
- out-migration
- out-of-body
- out-of-body experience
- out-of-bounds
- out-of-court settlement
- out-of-date
- out-of-door
- out-of-doors
- out-of-pocket
- out-of-round
- out-of-roundness