Intestinal biopsy tube, London, England, 1954-1958
Intestinal biopsy tube plastic, metal and rubber,. made by G.U. Manufacturing Co., London, 1954-1958
A biopsy is a procedure where a small piece of tissue is removed from the body for study under a microscope. A small knife in a tiny capsule at the end of the tube, which measures over a metre long, is passed down into the digestive tract. X-rays are used to locate the area to be sampled. When suction is applied a small piece of the intestine is snipped off and the tube removed. The tissue is sent to a laboratory for further tests. The process allows an investigation of the body, without the need for a major surgical operation.
Made by the Genito-Urinary Manufacturing Company, this is one of the first intestinal biopsy tubes ever made. Margot Shiner (1923-1993), a surgeon and paediatrician in the early 1950s, developed the technique of intestinal biopsy and used this very tube.
Details
- Category:
- Clinical Diagnosis
- Object Number:
- 1979-768
- Measurements:
-
overall: 340 mm x 330 mm, 3 mm, .09 kg
- type:
- intestinal biopsy tube
- credit:
- Central Middlesex Hospital