Which term describes a procedure in which tissue from deep within the body is obtained by inserting a biopsy needle through the skin?

• A. Blood draw
• B. Incisional biopsy
• C. Imaging
• D. Needle biopsy

Answer: (D)

Needle biopsy describes obtaining tissue from deep inside the body by inserting a needle through the skin to reach the lesion. This percutaneous approach can be done with a fine needle to aspirate cells or a core needle to remove a small cylinder of tissue for histology. This differs from a blood draw, which collects blood via venipuncture; from an incisional biopsy, which uses a surgical incision to remove a piece of tissue; and from imaging alone, which visualizes structures but does not collect tissue. The defining idea is getting tissue through the skin with a needle for analysis.