Your health care team will position you in a way that makes it safe for the doctor to access the area where the needle will be inserted. You may be asked to lie flat on a table.

You may undergo imaging procedures, such as a CT scan or ultrasound. These allow your doctor to see the target area and plan the best way to proceed. Imaging procedures are sometimes done before your needle biopsy and sometimes performed during the biopsy. What type of imaging you'll undergo, if any, will depend on what part of your body is being biopsied.

Kidney biopsy

Liver biopsy

Your health care team will clean the area of your body where the needle will be inserted. An anesthetic may be injected into the skin around the area to numb it. In some cases, you'll receive an IV sedative or other medication to relax you during the procedure. Sometimes general anesthesia is used during a needle biopsy. If this is the case, you'll receive medications through a vein in your arm that will relax you and put you in a sleep-like state.

During the needle biopsy, the doctor guides a needle through your skin and into the area of interest. A sample of cells is collected and the needle is withdrawn. This process may be repeated several times until enough cells are collected.