A technique that carried less risk and could be performed as an office procedure was the method of needle biopsy of the prostate through the perineum. The first description came in 1922 from Barringer who adopted Martin and Ellis’ technique of needle puncture for acquiring tissue for histological analysis (Barringer, 1922). He described the use of a screw tip needle to obtain a perineal punch biopsy and was successful in obtaining prostatic tissue in 16 out of 33 patients.
