noun/verb · formal
biopsy
UK/ˈbaɪɒpsi/US/ˈbaɪɑːpsi/BI·op·sy
A medical procedure in which a small sample of tissue is taken for laboratory examination (noun); to take such a sample (verb).
Examples
“The doctor performed a biopsy to check if the nodule was malignant.”
“We are still waiting for the biopsy results.”
“A needle biopsy is less invasive than a surgical biopsy.”
Band 8 sentence
“The biopsy confirmed the lesion was benign, so the team avoided further invasive treatment.”
Collocations
- tissue biopsy
- needle biopsy
- biopsy result
Word family
Common mistakes
They made a biopsy on him.→They performed a biopsy on him.
He had biopsy yesterday.→He had a biopsy yesterday.
Say it for a higher band
5test→6tissue sample→7+biopsy
Synonyms
sample
Easily confused
scan
“The MRI scan suggested a tumour, so they performed a biopsy.”
Related words
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In Health & Fitness
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