Patent ID: 8216153

Claim:
A cryosurgical instrument for obtaining a tissue sample, the instrument comprising: a probe with a probe head, wherein the probe head can be cooled by a cooling means, thereby fixing a portion of a tissue wall; a support tube, the probe being mounted in the support tube so as to be movable relative thereto; and an accelerating device for accelerating the support tube at a predetermined acceleration force relative to the probe, the acceleration force being directed such that the probe comes to lie inside the support tube from an extended position in which the probe head protrudes beyond a distal end of the support tube, wherein the distal end of the support tube is configured such that the distal end of the support tube induces, after an acceleration by the accelerating device and when coming in contact with the tissue wall, a tear-off force such that the probe head tears out the portion of the tissue wall.