The invention relates to a hollow needle (1) for a sample pipettor in an automated analysis instrument, which sample pipettor is suitable for withdrawing sample liquid from a sealed sample vessel by virtue of the cover or the cap of the sample vessel being pierced by the hollow needle (1). The hollow needle (1) has a substantially straight cylindrical basic shape with a tip (8) for piercing a cover and enables a removal of sample liquid, comparatively less susceptible to errors, from a sample vessel in an automated analysis instrument. In the region of the tip (8) of the hollow needle (1), a number of faces (22, 26, 28, 30) have been introduced in such a way that the radial force components resulting at the respective faces (22, 26, 28, 30) during an axial movement into an elastic material cancel one another.
