What Is a Biopsy?

A biopsy is the removal of a tissue sample from the body to test for the presence of disease or other changes that may indicate your risk for disease.

The biopsy method your doctor or surgeon uses depends on the suspected disease and its location in the body.

He or she may remove tissue by:

• Needle
• Minimally invasive surgery
• Traditional surgery

After your doctor or surgeon takes your tissue sample, he or she secures it in a transport container and sends it to the pathology lab. Our experts then inspect it and prepare it for examination under the microscope.

Learn more about how we examine biopsy specimens.