Guest Author - Lisa Shea

A biopsy is, in its most basic definition, taking out a piece of flesh in order to do tests on it. The word biopsy refers to both the action of removing the flesh - as well as the piece of flesh itself.

There are many different ways to do a biopsy. Here are a few of the most widely used types.

Incisional Biopsy
An incisional biopsy is when the doctor knows where the tumor is. The doctor actually takes a piece of that tumor in order to figure out more about it.

Excisional Biopsy
An excisional biopsy is when the doctor attempts to remove the entire tumor, in order to examine it and hopefully to treat the cancer fully.

Suction Biopsy
Also known as fine needle biopsy, this is used to get just a few cells from a delicate part of the body such as the neck. It is a way of getting some cells to test without harming the area.

Cutting Core Biopsy
This is also known as core needle biopsy. It gets a larger piece of tissue to sample than the suction biopsy, and is used to help test for cancer type.