Patent ID: 7464848

Claim:
An endoscopic surgical stapling apparatus for driving surgical fasteners, comprising: a) a frame portion; b) an elongate endoscopic body portion extending from said frame portion and defining a longitudinal axis; c) a fastener applying assembly defining a longitudinal axis and being pivotably mounted at a pivotable connection adjacent a distal end portion of the body portion, the fastener applying assembly being pivotable from a first position aligned with the longitudinal axis of the elongate endoscopic body portion to a second articulated position at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the elongate endoscopic body portion; d) the fastener applying assembly having an anvil and a cartridge assembly, the cartridge assembly including at least one surgical fastener therein, the anvil and cartridge assembly being operable to place the at least one surgical fastener in tissue; and e) at least one cable for moving the fastener applying assembly between an open position configured to receive tissue and a closed position, the at least one cable passing through the pivotable connection between the fastener applying assembly and the body portion, the at least one cable being connected to the cartridge assembly and engaged with the anvil.