A device for sampling contents in a bodily cavity of a patient, the device comprising: an outer housing comprising a sidewall extending between a first end and a second end spaced along an axis from the first end and an opening extending through the sidewall proximate the second end; a sampling reservoir comprising a rigid housing defining a volume and a re-sealable portion, the sampling reservoir being disposed in the outer housing and moveable within the outer housing, generally along the axis, between a sealed position, relatively closer to the first end of the outer housing, and a sampling position, relatively closer to the second end of the outer housing; a biasing member disposed in the outer housing proximate the second end of the housing and configured to apply a biasing force to the sampling reservoir to bias the sampling reservoir toward the sealed position; characterized in that the device comprises: a gas generating cell disposed in the outer housing proximate the first end of the outer housing and configured to generate gas at an actuating rate sufficient to move the sampling reservoir from the sealed position to the sampling position, against the biasing force; a sensor disposed to sense a condition of an environment external to the outer housing, the sensor being electrically connected to the gas generating cell to selectively control the gas generating cell to generate the gas; and a hollow needle fixed relative to the outer housing and in fluid communication with the opening extending through the sidewall, wherein the re-sealable portion of the sampling reservoir is pierced by the hollow needle when the sampling reservoir is in the sampling position and the re-sealable portion of the sampling reservoir is spaced from the hollow needle when the sampling reservoir is in the sealed position. an outer housing comprising a sidewall extending between a first end and a second end spaced along an axis from the first end and an opening extending through the sidewall proximate the second end; a sampling reservoir comprising a rigid housing defining a volume and a re-sealable portion, the sampling reservoir being disposed in the outer housing and moveable within the outer housing, generally along the axis, between a sealed position, relatively closer to the first end of the outer housing, and a sampling position, relatively closer to the second end of the outer housing; a biasing member disposed in the outer housing proximate the second end of the housing and configured to apply a biasing force to the sampling reservoir to bias the sampling reservoir toward the sealed position; characterized in that the device comprises: a gas generating cell disposed in the outer housing proximate the first end of the outer housing and configured to generate gas at an actuating rate sufficient to move the sampling reservoir from the sealed position to the sampling position, against the biasing force; a sensor disposed to sense a condition of an environment external to the outer housing, the sensor being electrically connected to the gas generating cell to selectively control the gas generating cell to generate the gas; and a hollow needle fixed relative to the outer housing and in fluid communication with the opening extending through the sidewall, wherein the re-sealable portion of the sampling reservoir is pierced by the hollow needle when the sampling reservoir is in the sampling position and the re-sealable portion of the sampling reservoir is spaced from the hollow needle when the sampling reservoir is in the sealed position. a gas generating cell disposed in the outer housing proximate the first end of the outer housing and configured to generate gas at an actuating rate sufficient to move the sampling reservoir from the sealed position to the sampling position, against the biasing force; a sensor disposed to sense a condition of an environment external to the outer housing, the sensor being electrically connected to the gas generating cell to selectively control the gas generating cell to generate the gas; and a hollow needle fixed relative to the outer housing and in fluid communication with the opening extending through the sidewall, wherein the re-sealable portion of the sampling reservoir is pierced by the hollow needle when the sampling reservoir is in the sampling position and the re-sealable portion of the sampling reservoir is spaced from the hollow needle when the sampling reservoir is in the sealed position.