Abstract: A muscle biopsy clamp operable with one hand to securely grip and retain an excised specimen in unstressed condition. The clamping jaws are in the form of two-pronged forks lying in a plane transverse to the major plane of the instrument which includes the straight handle members, the looped finger grips and ratchet locking members between the handle members. The jaws are also angled approximately 30.degree. with respect to the straight handle members to provide optimum visualization and maneuverability. Weakened areas are formed in the handle members permitting the finger grips to be snapped off without disturbing a gripped excised specimen so that the specimen can be placed in standard specimen jars for laboratory analysis.