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Veterinary Medicine vocabulary · Diagnostics and Laboratory Tests

Biopsy

Meaning in veterinary medicine, with examples

/ˈbaɪɒpsi/nounCommon term

In veterinary medicine, biopsy means: Taking a small piece of tissue from a living animal so that it can be examined under a microscope, or the tissue sample itself.

In Turkish: biyopsi

How it is used

Vets take a biopsy and send it off to the lab, where a pathologist reports on it (histopathology). Types include incisional, excisional, punch and needle biopsies. A fine-needle aspirate (FNA) collects cells rather than tissue.

Example sentences

  1. We took a biopsy of the lump on his leg and sent it to the lab.

  2. The skin biopsy results should be back in about a week.

Common collocations

  • take a biopsy
  • skin biopsy
  • biopsy results
  • excisional biopsy
  • ultrasound-guided biopsy
  • diagnosisThe identification of the disease or problem that is causing an animal's clinical signs, based on the history, the examination and test results.
  • ultrasoundAn imaging method that uses high-frequency sound waves to show soft tissues and organs on a screen, such as the heart, liver, bladder or a pregnant uterus.
  • post-mortem examinationA detailed examination of an animal's body after death to find out why it died or what diseases it had. In the US it is usually called a necropsy.
  • anaesthesiaA controlled state, produced with drugs, in which an animal feels no pain and is usually unconscious, so that surgery or other procedures can be done safely.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Diagnostics and Laboratory Tests

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.