A bioptome is a small
pincer Pincer may refer to:
*Pincers (tool)
*Pincer (biology), part of an animal
*Pincer ligand, a terdentate, often planar molecule that tightly binds a variety of metal ions
*Pincer (Go), a move in the game of Go
*"Pincers!", an episode of the TV series ...
-shaped cutting/grasping
instrument used in
medicine
Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...
for taking
endomyocardial biopsy specimens of the
heart muscle
Cardiac muscle (also called heart muscle or myocardium) is one of three types of vertebrate muscle tissues, the others being skeletal muscle and smooth muscle. It is an involuntary, striated muscle that constitutes the main tissue of the wall of ...
following
heart transplantation
A heart transplant, or a cardiac transplant, is a surgical transplant procedure performed on patients with end-stage heart failure when other medical or surgical treatments have failed. , the most common procedure is to take a functioning heart ...
in
rejection monitoring and for diagnosing some diseases of the heart.
Technique
It is flexible and usually operated under the guidance of
fluoroscopy
Fluoroscopy (), informally referred to as "fluoro", is an imaging technique that uses X-rays to obtain real-time moving images of the interior of an object. In its primary application of medical imaging, a fluoroscope () allows a surgeon to see t ...
or
echocardiography
Echocardiography, also known as cardiac ultrasound, is the use of ultrasound to examine the heart. It is a type of medical imaging, using standard ultrasound or Doppler ultrasound. The visual image formed using this technique is called an ec ...
.
History
Since 1962, many modifications to the device and techniques in its use have been made.
References
Surgical instruments
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