Patent ID: 7611038

Claim:
A surgical stapler, comprising: an anvil assembly, comprising: a tissue contact surface; a plurality of staple pockets formed in the tissue contact surface, each of the plurality of staple pockets defining a longitudinal axis; each of the plurality of staple pockets including first and second staple forming cups, each of the first and second staple forming cups having an outside portion and an inside portion, the inside portion of the first and second staple forming cups being positioned in close relation to each other on the longitudinal axis of each of the plurality of staple pockets, the outside portion of the first and second staple forming cups being positioned in spaced relation to each other on the longitudinal axis of each of the plurality of staple pockets, each of the first and second staple forming cups being defined by sidewalls and an elongated base surface extending along the longitudinal axis of each of the plurality of staple pockets, wherein the sidewalls of each of the first and second staple forming cups form an acute angle with respect to the tissue contact surface of the anvil assembly at the outside portion of each of the first and second staple forming cups and become progressively more perpendicular towards the inside portion of each of the first and second staple forming cups such that the sidewalls of the first and second staple forming cups are substantially vertical through at least a center of each of the staple forming cups; and a staple cartridge, comprising: a plurality of directionally biased staples supported in a spaced relation to each other, each of the directionally biased staples including, a crown portion; a pair of legs depending from the crown portion, the pair of legs being positioned to be received within a respective staple pocket of the anvil assembly for formation of the staple; and each leg including a bending region, the bending region having a base dimension and a height dimension, the base dimension being greater than the height dimension, and the bending region having a moment of inertia ratio of between about 1.1 and about 3.0.