What does biopsying mean?
Biopsying is the medical practice of taking a small sample of tissue or cells from a living body so that specialists can examine it for diagnostic purposes. The sample may be obtained with a needle, during surgery, or through another appropriate technique, depending on the body site and the suspected condition. Microscopic or laboratory analysis of the material can reveal evidence of infection, inflammation, abnormal growth, or cancer. The word is used in formal clinical and pathological contexts and is generally less common than the related noun biopsy, which names the procedure itself. Biopsying is especially associated with investigating suspicious lumps, lesions, organs, and tissue abnormalities. Although the act can be unpleasant or anxiety-provoking for a patient, it is an important diagnostic tool because it often provides more direct and reliable evidence than imaging alone. The term combines medical senses of examining living tissue with a form of the verb biopsy.
verbBiopsying is the act of removing a small sample of tissue or cells from a living body for medical or laboratory examination.
- To take a small sample of tissue or cells from a living body for medical examination.
"The specialist is biopsying the suspicious lymph node to determine whether the cells are cancerous."
"The doctor recommended biopsying the growth before deciding how to treat it."
"Several samples were collected during the operation by biopsying the affected organ."
Biopsying brings together Greek roots meaning “life” and “seeing”: the procedure seeks answers by looking closely at living tissue.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does biopsying come from?
Biopsying is the present-participle and gerund form of biopsy, rather than an independently created word. Biopsy was formed in medical English from Greek bios, meaning “life,” and opsis, meaning “a seeing” or “examination,” reflecting examination of living tissue. Related words such as biopsic, bioptic, and bioptics draw on the same Greek vocabulary.
Related word forms
How biopsying is actually used
This is formal medical vocabulary used chiefly in clinical, surgical, and pathological contexts. It is less common as an independent dictionary word than the noun biopsy and commonly describes an ongoing action or names an activity.
Easily confused with biopsying
Biopsy is the standard noun and base verb, while biopsying is specifically the present-participle or gerund form of biopsy.