Endometrial Biopsy Overview

How the Test is Performed

This procedure may be performed with or without anesthesia. You will be asked to lie on your back with your feet in the stirrups. A pelvic examination will be done, and a speculum will be inserted into the vagina and opened slightly. The speculum is an instrument used to hold the walls of the vaginal canal open, in order to see the cervix.

The cervix is cleaned with an antiseptic solution and then grasped with an instrument (tenaculum) to steady the uterus. A small, hollow plastic tube is gently passed into the uterine cavity.

Gentle suction removes a sample of the lining. The tissue sample and instruments are removed, and the sample is examined under a microscope by a pathologist.