CN111265262B

CN111265262B - Staple cartridge assembly for a surgical instrument and surgical instrument

Info

Publication number: CN111265262B
Application number: CN201910084104.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 孙宝峰; 张志星
Original assignee: Fengh Medical Co ltd
Current assignee: Fengh Medical Co ltd
Priority date: 2018-12-04
Filing date: 2019-01-28
Publication date: 2023-07-11
Anticipated expiration: 2039-01-28
Also published as: CN111265262A

Abstract

The invention discloses a nail bin assembly for a surgical instrument, which comprises a nail bin, wherein the nail bin is provided with a nail bin body, the nail bin body is provided with a knife slot extending along the longitudinal direction, the nail bin body comprises an insertion end and a tail end, the nail bin assembly also comprises a cutting knife and a limiting piece which are arranged at the tail end of the nail bin body, and the limiting piece is pivotally connected to the nail bin body; the limiting piece comprises a first clamping part, the cutting knife comprises a second clamping part, and the first clamping part is detachably clamped with the second clamping part; when the cutter is in the unused state, the limiting piece is accommodated in the nail bin body and used for preventing the cutter from generating unexpected movement, so that the cutter is prevented from injuring tissues by mistake, after the cutter is used and moved, the cutter is separated from the clamping of the limiting piece by movement, the torsional spring enables the limiting piece to rotate to the top surface beyond the nail bin body, and the part of the limiting piece beyond the top surface of the nail bin body is used for protecting the cutter from being damaged by foreign objects when the cutter is restored to the initial position after cutting.

Description

Staple cartridge assembly for a surgical instrument and surgical instrument

Technical Field

The invention relates to a nail bin assembly for a surgical instrument and the surgical instrument.

Background

The surgical instrument is a surgical tool in medical operation, the suture instrument is a surgical instrument, which is a device used in medicine and used for replacing manual suture, and the main working principle is to separate or anastomose tissues by using the suture nails, which is similar to a stapler. The stapling instrument includes a pair of cooperating elongate jaw members that are adapted to be inserted into a patient to staple and/or cut tissue, and which are supportable to receive a staple cartridge. At present, the existing nail bin generally comprises a nail bin body and a plurality of stitching nails arranged in the nail bin body, wherein a plurality of stitching nail cavities used for accommodating stitching nails are arranged in the nail bin body. The cartridge body defines a knife slot extending along a longitudinal axis of the cartridge body, and the staple cavities are arranged on either side of the knife slot along the longitudinal axis. The knife slot provides for a cutting knife to be mounted therein and movable along the knife slot. When the cutting knife is cutting tissue, staples within the cartridge body staple the tissue. The cutting knife includes a base positioned within and movable along the knife slot and a blade extending from the base, the blade positioned above the cartridge body and configured to cut tissue. When the cutting knife is in a state of waiting to be used, the cutting knife is easy to move, so that the cutting edge part damages tissues; when the cutter is retracted to the initial position after cutting, the blade is easily damaged by foreign objects.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a staple cartridge assembly for a surgical instrument that prevents undesired movement of a cutting blade.

In order to achieve the above purpose, the present invention is realized by the following technical scheme:

a cartridge assembly for a surgical instrument comprising a cartridge having a staple, a staple pusher, and a cartridge body extending in a longitudinal direction, the cartridge body being provided with a staple cavity in which the staple is housed, the staple pusher being for pushing the staple out of the staple cavity; the nail bin assembly comprises a nail bin body, a nail bin cover and a nail bin cover, wherein the nail bin body is provided with a knife slot extending along the longitudinal direction, the nail bin body comprises an insertion end and a tail end, the nail bin assembly further comprises a cutting knife and a limiting piece which are arranged at the tail end of the nail bin body, and the limiting piece is pivotally connected to the nail bin body; the limiting piece comprises a first clamping part, the cutting knife comprises a second clamping part, and the first clamping part is detachably clamped with the second clamping part.

Further, the nail bin further comprises a pusher arranged at the bottom of the nail bin body, the cutting knife pushes the pusher, and the pusher pushes the nail pushing piece.

Further, the pusher comprises a limiting block and two pushing parts positioned at two sides of the limiting block, the number of the pushing parts is two, each pushing part comprises two pushing blocks which are arranged in parallel, the pushing blocks push the nail pushing pieces, and the limiting block is positioned in the cutter slot.

Further, the cutter comprises a base and a blade, wherein the base pushes against the pusher.

Further, the cutting knife further comprises an additional portion connecting the base portion and the cutting edge portion, the second clamping portion is a hole formed in the additional portion, and the first clamping portion is a protruding block.

Further, the limiting piece comprises a limiting body and a torsion spring arranged on the limiting body, the limiting body comprises a convex column, the torsion spring is wound on the convex column, and the convex column is pivotally connected to the nail bin body; the limiting body is provided with the protruding blocks.

Further, the limiting body further comprises a main body part and an extension part extending from the main body part, and the convex column protrudes from the extension part; the body portion is provided with the projection.

Further, the first engaging portion is a bump, and the second engaging portion is a hole.

Further, the knife slot divides the cartridge body into two sides, a first side and a second side, respectively, the cutting knife being located between the first side and the second side; the limiting parts are two, namely a first limiting part and a second limiting part, the first limiting part is pivotally connected to the first side part, and the second limiting part is pivotally connected to the second side part.

Furthermore, the two side parts are respectively provided with an accommodating space formed by downwards sinking from the top end of the side part, and each limiting part is respectively accommodated in one accommodating space.

Further, the convex column comprises a first convex column protruding from one side surface of the extension part and a second convex column protruding from the other side surface, and the torsion spring is wound on the first convex column; the nail bin body is divided into two side parts by the knife slot, the two side parts are respectively provided with an accommodating space formed by downwards sinking from the top end of the nail bin body, the accommodating space is provided with two side walls in the transverse direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, the two side walls are respectively provided with a first accommodating hole and a second accommodating hole, the first convex column is accommodated in the first accommodating hole, and the second convex column is accommodated in the second accommodating hole.

The invention also provides a surgical instrument comprising a staple cartridge seat and a staple cartridge assembly arranged in the staple cartridge seat, wherein the staple cartridge assembly is used for cutting and suturing tissues, and the staple cartridge assembly is any one of the staple cartridge assemblies.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a staple cartridge assembly for a surgical instrument that prevents the cutting blade from being damaged by foreign objects.

In order to achieve the above purpose, the present invention can be realized by the following technical scheme:

a cartridge assembly for a surgical instrument comprising a cartridge having a staple, a staple pusher, and a cartridge body extending in a longitudinal direction, the cartridge body being provided with a staple cavity in which the staple is housed, the staple pusher being for pushing the staple out of the staple cavity; the nail bin body is provided with a knife slot extending along the longitudinal direction, the nail bin body comprises an insertion end and a tail end, the nail bin assembly further comprises a cutting knife and a limiting piece which are arranged at the tail end of the nail bin body, the limiting piece is pivotally connected to the nail bin body and is contained in the nail bin body, the limiting piece comprises a limiting body and a torsion spring arranged on the limiting body, and the limiting body comprises a main body part and an extending part extending from the main body part; when the cutter is in an unused state, the main body part is clamped with the cutter to prevent the cutter from moving undesirably, after the cutter is used and moved, the cutter moves to enable the cutter to be out of clamping with the main body part, and the torsion spring enables the main body part to rotate to above the nail bin body.

Further, the cutting knife further comprises an additional part connected with the base part and the cutting edge part, the additional part is provided with a second clamping part, the limiting piece is provided with a first clamping part, and the first clamping part is clamped with the second clamping part.

Further, the limiting body comprises a convex column, the torsion spring is wound on the convex column, and the convex column is pivotally connected to the nail bin body.

Further, the body portion is provided with the bump.

Further, the boss protrudes from the extension portion.

The beneficial effects of the invention are as follows: when the cutting knife is in a to-be-used state, the limiting piece is accommodated in the nail bin body, and the limiting piece is clamped with the cutting knife through the first clamping part and the second clamping part to prevent the cutting knife from moving in an unused state, so that the tissue is prevented from being accidentally injured by the cutting knife. After the cutter is used and moved, the cutter moves to enable the cutter to be separated from the clamping of the limiting piece, the torsion spring enables the main body of the limiting body to rotate to the top surface beyond the nail bin body, and when the cutter is restored to the starting position after cutting, the main body is used for protecting the cutting edge of the cutter to prevent the cutting edge from being damaged by foreign objects.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the structure of the cartridge assembly of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the cartridge assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partially assembled view of the cartridge assembly of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the circled portion illustrated in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the device shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the cutter, stopper and pusher shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of the cutter and the limiting member shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the cutting blade and stop shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of the cutter shown in FIG. 4 after the cutter has been operated and returned to its original position;

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the device shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of the cutter, stop and pusher shown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a schematic view of the structure of the cover shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 13 is a schematic view of the first staple pusher of FIG. 2;

FIG. 14 is a schematic view of the second staple pusher of FIG. 2;

FIG. 15 is a schematic view of the staple, pusher, and pusher of FIG. 2.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

The terms "first," "second," and the like, are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defining "a first" or "a second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one such feature. In the description of the present invention, the meaning of "plurality" means at least two, for example, two, three, etc., unless specifically defined otherwise. The meaning of "several" is at least one.

The embodiments described below by referring to the drawings are illustrative and intended to explain the present invention and should not be construed as limiting the invention.

The prior art surgical instruments include a handle portion, a shaft assembly disposed on the handle portion, an end effector disposed on the shaft assembly, and a cartridge assembly mounted within the end effector.

As shown in fig. 1 to 15, the present invention discloses a staple cartridge assembly, which includes a staple cartridge 10, a cutter 6 mounted to the staple cartridge 10, and a pair of stoppers 7, wherein the pair of stoppers 7 includes a first stopper 71 and a second stopper 72. The nail bin 10 comprises a nail bin body 1 extending along the longitudinal direction, a pusher 4 and a bracket 5, wherein the pusher 4 and the bracket 5 are arranged at the bottom of the nail bin body 1, and the pusher 4 is positioned between the nail bin body 1 and the bracket 5. The nail bin body 1 is provided with a plurality of nail cavities 13, a part of the nail pushing piece 3 and the nails 2 are arranged in the nail cavities 13, the nail pushing piece 3 is driven to move by the pusher 4, and the nails 2 are pushed by the nail pushing piece 3 to be ejected. When the nail bin 10 is not used, the cover body 20 is covered on the nail bin 10, so that dust and the like can be prevented from entering the nail bin 10. The cover 20 includes a cover 201, and a hook 202 and a positioning ridge 203 extending downward from the cover 201, wherein the hook 202 extends downward from a side of the cover 201, and when the cartridge 10 is mounted to an end effector (not shown) of a surgical instrument, the cover 20 is removed and then mounted. The cartridge body 1 is provided with a knife slot 16 extending in the longitudinal direction, the knife slot 16 dividing the cartridge body 1 into two sides 17, a first side 171 and a second side 172 respectively. The first stop 71 is pivotally connected to the first side 171 and the second stop 72 is pivotally connected to the second side 172. The cartridge body 1 includes a top end surface 14 and a bottom end surface 15, and the knife slot 16 penetrates the top end surface 14 and the bottom end surface 15 up and down. The cartridge body 1 includes an insertion end 11 and a distal end 12 in the longitudinal direction, the insertion end 11 being the end that first enters the stapled tissue with the end effector relative to the distal end 12, the insertion end 11 being at the head end of the end effector and the distal end 12 being at the end of the end effector that is proximal to the shaft assembly of the surgical instrument when the cartridge 10 is mounted to the end effector. The cutter blade 6 and the pair of stoppers 7 are mounted on the distal end 12 of the cartridge body 1. The cartridge body 1 is provided with a staple outlet 130 formed by the staple cavity 13 penetrating through the top end surface 14, the staple cavity 13 also penetrates through the bottom end surface 15 of the cartridge body 1, and a sliding channel (not shown) extending along the longitudinal direction of the cartridge body 1 is formed on the bottom end surface 15.

Referring to fig. 13 to 15, the staple 2 has a fixing lever 21 and extension levers 22 formed to extend upward from both ends of the fixing lever 21, and the fixing lever 21 is provided on the staple pusher 3. When the staples 2 are in the initial state (no staples are shown), the tips of the extension bars 22 of the staples 2 are lower than the top end face 14 of the cartridge body 1, or the tips of the extension bars 22 of the staples 2 are flush with the top end face 14 of the cartridge body 1 to facilitate stapling. If the distal end of the staple 2 is higher than the distal end face 14 of the cartridge body 1, stapling is not possible, and stapling is not facilitated because, when the end effector is inserted into the tissue to be stapled, the staple 2 will contact the tissue to be stapled when the distal end of the staple 2 is higher than the distal end face 14, friction will be generated, and misalignment between the staple 2 and the tissue to be stapled is not facilitated.

Each of the staple cavities 13 accommodates therein a staple pusher 3, the staple pusher 3 including a support portion 31 and a guide portion 32 integrally formed with the support portion 31. The two sides of the supporting portion 31 are provided with extending blocks 33 in an upward protruding mode, and the extending blocks 33 and the supporting portion 31 are surrounded to form limiting grooves 34, and the limiting grooves 34 are used for accommodating the fixing rods 21 of the stitching nails 2. The pusher 4 includes a limiting block 41 and pushing portions 42 located at two sides of the limiting block 41, each pushing portion 42 includes two pushing blocks 43 disposed in parallel, and the pushing blocks 43 are used for pushing the staple pushing piece 3. The pushing block 43 is located in the sliding channel of the nail bin body 1 and can move relative to the sliding channel. The stopper 41 is defined in the knife slot 16 to prevent the pusher 4 from deviating from a moving direction or shaking when the pusher 4 moves relative to the cartridge body 1. The guide part 32 is matched with the pushing block 43, the guide part 32 is positioned in the sliding channel, when the pusher 4 drives the pushing piece 3 to move, the pushing block 43 is in contact with the guide part 32 to push the guide part 32 to move, and the extending block 33 of the pushing piece 3 is arranged in the staple cavity 13, and the staple cavity 13 limits the extending block 33 to further limit the pushing piece 3 to move up and down relative to the staple cartridge body 1, so when the pushing block 43 applies force to the guide part 32, the guide part 32 can only move up relative to the staple cartridge body 1, and at the moment, the support part 31 moves up relative to the staple cartridge body 1 along with the guide part 32, so that the staples 2 are pushed to move up relative to the staple cartridge body 1, and the staples are discharged. In this embodiment, the staple pusher 3 comprises two different structures (see in particular fig. 13 and 14), the specific structures of which are not described in detail here. The staple pusher 3 is supported by the carrier 5 to prevent the staple pusher 3 from being disengaged from the cartridge body 1. The cartridge body 1 includes two side surfaces extending in the longitudinal direction, and each side surface is provided with a snap groove 173, a snap groove 174, and a snap block 175. The positioning ridge 203 of the cover 20 can be inserted into the knife slot 16, and the hook 202 is in snap fit with the snap groove 173 to fix the cover 20 and the cartridge body 1. The bracket 5 is provided with a groove 51 matched with the clamping block 175 and a hook 52 matched with the clamping groove 174. The bracket 5 is used to secure the pusher 4 to prevent the pusher 4 from disengaging from the cartridge body 1.

Referring to fig. 5, the cutter 6 and the pusher 4 are abutted against each other, and the cutter 6 moves forward to drive the pusher 4 to move forward. The cutter 6 includes a base 61, an additional portion 62 extending upward from the base 61, and a blade portion 63 extending upward from the additional portion 62. The base 61 is stepped, the base 61 is located below the knife slot 16, the additional portion 62 is located within the knife slot 16 and movable along the knife slot 16, and the blade portion 63 is located above the knife slot 16. When the additional part 62 moves in the knife slot 16, the knife edge 63 cuts the tissue, the base 61 pushes the pusher 4 to move, so that the pusher 4 drives the staple pushing piece 3 to move, and the cutting knife 6 cuts the tissue and simultaneously the pusher 4 can timely push the staple pushing piece 3, so that the staples 2 timely suture the tissue to be sutured, the simultaneous cutting and suturing of the tissue is ensured, the flow of tissue liquid from the incision into the knife slot 16 is prevented, and the incision healing is facilitated.

Referring to fig. 6 to 8, the first limiting member 71 is mounted on the first side portion 171, the second limiting member 72 is mounted on the second side portion 172, the additional portion 62 of the cutting blade 6 is located in the blade slot 16, and the first limiting member 71 and the second limiting member 72 are located on both sides of the additional portion 62 of the cutting blade 6. The limiting member 7 includes a limiting body 73 and a torsion spring 74 mounted to the limiting body 73. The stopper 73 includes a main body 75 and an extension 76 extending from the main body 75. The main body 75 has a first engaging portion 751 protruding in a direction toward the attachment portion 62, the first engaging portion 751 is a bump, the attachment portion 62 is correspondingly provided with a second engaging portion 621, the second engaging portion 621 is a hole, the first engaging portion 751 is detachably engaged with the second engaging portion 621, and the first engaging portion 751 is engaged with the corresponding second engaging portion 621 to prevent the cutter knife 6 from moving when in the ready-to-use state. The stopper 7 further includes a first protrusion 77 protruding from one side of the extension 76 and a second protrusion 78 protruding from the other side of the extension 76, and the torsion spring 74 is wound around the first protrusion 77. Both side portions 17 are provided with a receiving space 170 formed by recessing downward from the top end surface 14 of the cartridge body 1, and the extension portion 76 is received in the receiving space 170. The accommodating space 170 of each side portion 17 has two side walls in a transverse direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, the two side walls are respectively provided with a first accommodating hole 18 and a second accommodating hole 19, the first protruding column 77 is accommodated in the first accommodating hole 18, and the second protruding column 78 is accommodated in the second accommodating hole 19. The first protrusion 77 can rotate in the first receiving hole 18, and the second protrusion 78 can rotate in the second receiving hole 19. When the cutter blade 6 is in the use state, that is, when the additional portion 62 of the cutter blade 6 moves forward along the blade slot 16, the second engaging portion 621 is disengaged from the first engaging portion 751 by the movement of the additional portion 62, the main body 75 of the limiting body 73 rotates upward under the action of the torsion spring 74, and after the rotation, the main body 75 is located above the cartridge body 1. The limiting body 73 does not need extra intervention for releasing the limiting of the cutting knife 6, and the limiting body 73 can release the limiting of the cutting knife 6 when the cutting knife 6 moves.

In summary, when the cutter 6 is in the ready-to-use state, the main body 75 of the limiting body 73 is accommodated in the cartridge body 1 and is located at both sides of the additional portion 62 of the cutter 6, and the main body 75 and the additional portion 62 are engaged with each other by the first engaging portion 751 and the second engaging portion 621 to prevent the cutter 6 from moving undesirably. When the cutting knife 6 moves in the knife slot 16, the cutting knife 6 pushes against the pusher 4, the pusher 4 pushes against the staple pushing member 3, and the staple pushing member 3 pushes against the staples 2, thereby ensuring that the cutting of the tissue and the stapling of the tissue are performed simultaneously, preventing tissue fluid from flowing into the knife slot 16 from the incision, and facilitating the healing of the incision; when the cutter 6 returns to the initial position after the completion of the work, the main body portions 75 of the stoppers 7 are positioned on both sides of the blade 63, and the blade 63 is prevented from being damaged by foreign objects.

While embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described above, it should be understood that the above embodiments are illustrative and not to be construed as limiting the present invention, and that variations, modifications, alternatives and variations may be made to the above embodiments by those skilled in the art within the scope of the present invention, all of which are within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A cartridge assembly for a surgical instrument comprising a cartridge having a staple, a staple pusher, and a cartridge body extending in a longitudinal direction, the cartridge body being provided with a staple cavity in which the staple is housed, the staple pusher being for pushing the staple out of the staple cavity; the nail bin body is provided with a knife slot extending along the longitudinal direction, and comprises an insertion end and a tail end, and is characterized in that: the nail bin assembly further comprises a cutting knife and a limiting piece which are arranged at the tail end of the nail bin body, and the limiting piece is pivotally connected to the nail bin body; the limiting piece comprises a first clamping part, the cutting knife comprises a second clamping part, and the first clamping part is detachably clamped with the second clamping part; the limiting piece comprises a main body part, when the cutting knife is in an unused state, the main body part is contained in the nail bin body and is positioned at two sides of the cutting knife, and the main body part is clamped with the cutting knife through the first clamping part and the second clamping part so as to prevent the cutting knife from moving undesirably; after the cutter is used and moved, the cutter moves to enable the cutter to be separated from the engagement with the main body part, and the main body part rotates to the upper part of the nail bin body; when the cutter is restored to the initial position after working, the main body part rotating to the upper part of the nail bin body is positioned at two sides of the cutting edge part of the cutter to protect the cutting edge part.

2. The staple cartridge assembly for a surgical instrument of claim 1, wherein: the nail bin further comprises a pusher arranged at the bottom of the nail bin body, the cutting knife pushes the pusher, and the pusher pushes the nail pushing piece.

3. The staple cartridge assembly for a surgical instrument of claim 2, wherein: the pusher comprises a limiting block and two pushing parts positioned at two sides of the limiting block, wherein the number of the pushing parts is two, each pushing part comprises two pushing blocks which are arranged in parallel, the pushing blocks push the nail pushing pieces, and the limiting block is positioned in the cutter slot.

4. The staple cartridge assembly for a surgical instrument of claim 2, wherein: the cutter comprises a base and a blade part, wherein the base pushes against the pusher.

5. The staple cartridge assembly for a surgical instrument of claim 4, wherein: the cutting knife further comprises an additional part for connecting the base part and the cutting edge part, the second clamping part is a hole formed in the additional part, and the first clamping part is a protruding block.

6. The staple cartridge assembly for a surgical instrument of claim 5, wherein: the limiting piece comprises a limiting body and a torsion spring arranged on the limiting body, the limiting body comprises a convex column, the torsion spring is wound on the convex column, and the convex column is pivotally connected to the nail bin body; the limiting body is provided with the protruding blocks, after the cutting knife is used and moved, the cutting knife moves to enable the cutting knife to be separated from the clamping of the limiting piece, and the torsion spring enables the main body to rotate to the upper portion of the nail bin body.

7. The staple cartridge assembly for a surgical instrument of claim 6, wherein: the limiting body further comprises an extension part extending from the main body part, and the convex column protrudes from the extension part; the body portion is provided with the projection.

8. The staple cartridge assembly for a surgical instrument of claim 1, wherein: the first clamping part is a bump, and the second clamping part is a hole.

9. The staple cartridge assembly for a surgical instrument of claim 1, wherein: the knife slot divides the nail bin body into two side parts, namely a first side part and a second side part, and the cutting knife is positioned between the first side part and the second side part; the limiting parts are two, namely a first limiting part and a second limiting part, the first limiting part is pivotally connected to the first side part, and the second limiting part is pivotally connected to the second side part.

10. The staple cartridge assembly for a surgical instrument of claim 9, wherein: the two side parts are respectively provided with an accommodating space formed by downwards sinking from the top end of the side part, and each limiting part is respectively accommodated in one accommodating space.

11. The staple cartridge assembly for a surgical instrument of claim 7, wherein: the convex column comprises a first convex column protruding from one side surface of the extension part and a second convex column protruding from the other side surface, and the torsion spring is wound on the first convex column; the nail bin body is divided into two side parts by the knife slot, the two side parts are respectively provided with an accommodating space formed by downwards sinking from the top end of the nail bin body, the accommodating space is provided with two side walls in the transverse direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, the two side walls are respectively provided with a first accommodating hole and a second accommodating hole, the first convex column is accommodated in the first accommodating hole, and the second convex column is accommodated in the second accommodating hole.

12. A surgical instrument comprising a cartridge housing and a cartridge assembly mounted within the cartridge housing for cutting and stapling tissue, characterized in that: the cartridge assembly of any one of claims 1-11.