In an embodiment of the invention, a frictional tissue sampling device with an expandable balloon and associated abrasive material can be used to obtain tissue biopsy samples. A frictional tissue sampling device with expandable abrasive material can be used to obtain an epithelial tissue biopsy sample from lesions. The device can be otherwise used to sample specific locations. In various embodiments, the head of the device can be passes through a catheter into a body canal to sample epithelial tissue.
