An end effector for a surgical stapling apparatus, the end effector comprising: a cartridge assembly supporting a plurality of staples, each staple of the plurality of staples including a backspan, a first leg, and a second leg, the first and second legs extending from the backspan and each leg terminating in a tip; and an anvil assembly coupled to the cartridge assembly, the anvil assembly including an anvil having opposed side surfaces, the anvil defining a knife slot and a plurality of biased staple-forming pockets disposed between the opposed side surfaces of the anvil, each biased staple-forming pocket of the plurality of biased staple-forming pockets positioned to form the first and second legs of a respective staple of the plurality of staples on one side of the backspan of the respective staple, the one side of the backspan being positioned toward the knife slot of the anvil relative to the opposed side surfaces of the anvil, wherein each biased staple-forming pocket of the plurality of biased staple-forming pockets includes a first staple-leg forming cavity and a second staple-leg forming cavity separated by a raised central bridge portion relative to the cavities, each of the first and second staple-leg forming cavities (118b, 118c) being substantially equal in depth and including a guide portion and a spine portion separated by a centerline extending longitudinally through each of the staple-forming pockets with the guide portion positioned away from the knife slot and the spine portion positioned toward the knife slot and opposite to the guide portion, the guide portion being configured to cam one of the first or second legs of one of the staples of the plurality of staples and funnel it toward the spine portion with the central bridge portion ascending from a bottom surface of the first and second staple-leg forming cavities, wherein each biased staple-forming pocket includes an end wall that extends linearly along the first and second staple-leg forming cavities and the central bridge portion on a medial side toward the knife slot so that the biased staple-forming pockets are arranged to form the plurality of staples such that the tips of the staples are disposed on a medial side of the respective backspans of the staples. a cartridge assembly supporting a plurality of staples, each staple of the plurality of staples including a backspan, a first leg, and a second leg, the first and second legs extending from the backspan and each leg terminating in a tip; and an anvil assembly coupled to the cartridge assembly, the anvil assembly including an anvil having opposed side surfaces, the anvil defining a knife slot and a plurality of biased staple-forming pockets disposed between the opposed side surfaces of the anvil, each biased staple-forming pocket of the plurality of biased staple-forming pockets positioned to form the first and second legs of a respective staple of the plurality of staples on one side of the backspan of the respective staple, the one side of the backspan being positioned toward the knife slot of the anvil relative to the opposed side surfaces of the anvil, wherein each biased staple-forming pocket of the plurality of biased staple-forming pockets includes a first staple-leg forming cavity and a second staple-leg forming cavity separated by a raised central bridge portion relative to the cavities, each of the first and second staple-leg forming cavities (118b, 118c) being substantially equal in depth and including a guide portion and a spine portion separated by a centerline extending longitudinally through each of the staple-forming pockets with the guide portion positioned away from the knife slot and the spine portion positioned toward the knife slot and opposite to the guide portion, the guide portion being configured to cam one of the first or second legs of one of the staples of the plurality of staples and funnel it toward the spine portion with the central bridge portion ascending from a bottom surface of the first and second staple-leg forming cavities, wherein each biased staple-forming pocket includes an end wall that extends linearly along the first and second staple-leg forming cavities and the central bridge portion on a medial side toward the knife slot so that the biased staple-forming pockets are arranged to form the plurality of staples such that the tips of the staples are disposed on a medial side of the respective backspans of the staples.