Patent ID: 8292153

Claim:
A surgical stapling apparatus having a longitudinal axis, the apparatus comprising: an anvil having an annular working surface, the annular working surface being generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis and including a plurality of staple forming depressions formed therein in at least one annular row, the anvil having an upstanding side wall extending from an outer terminal edge of the working surface and inclined relative to the working surface; and a staple cartridge having an annular distal surface in juxtaposition to the working surface of the anvil and including a plurality of staple retention slots formed therein in at least one annular row, the staple cartridge having an upstanding side wall extending from an outer terminal edge of the distal surface, the upstanding side wall of the staple cartridge complementing the upstanding side wall of the anvil such that when the anvil and staple cartridge are approximated relative to one another, the upstanding side wall of the staple cartridge and the upstanding side wall of the anvil nest in each other, such that the working surface of the anvil cooperates with the distal surface of the staple cartridge for aligning the plurality of staple forming depressions with the plurality of staple retention slots.