The angle formed by the block face and the cutting edge of the blade is called the bevel angle.

• A. Bevel angle
• B. Blade angle
• C. Cutting angle
• D. Edge angle

Answer: (A)

Bevel angle describes how the blade’s edge meets the tissue block. It’s the angle formed between the block face (the surface the blade slides against) and the cutting edge itself. This geometry determines how sharp the edge is: a more acute bevel makes the edge finer, giving a cleaner, thinner cut and better tissue ribbon formation, but it’s also more prone to dulling or chipping. A broader bevel angle yields a sturdier edge but can cut less cleanly and compress the tissue more.

Other terms aren’t used to describe this specific edge geometry because they don’t precisely refer to the relationship between the edge and the block face.