Biopsy is a simplified procedure of obtaining tissues from affected part(s), usually some unusual growth or lining of an organ for microscopic examination.
To obtain tissue from deeply situated organs like liver or kidney, a hollow needle is used. Soft spongy material such as bone marrow can also be obtained by suction through the needle.
The tissue after removal is either frozen or fixed in wax for preservation. Later, thin slices are cut, stained with special colours for clarity and examined under the microscope to ascertain whether the tissue is benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous).
In certain types of cancers, biopsy of the tissue is vital. If diagnosed early, the spread of cancerous cells to other parts of the body can be checked either by surgery or chemotherapy.
There are no after-effects of biopsy. The pain at the place where the biopsy was done usually lasts only for a couple of days. Even discolouration of skin, if at all, due to bleeding disappears in no time.
