A biopsy device includes a body, a needle, a cutter, and a cutter drive mechanism. The needle extends distally from the body. The cutter is movable relative to the needle to sever a tissue sample. The cutter drive mechanism is driven by a rotary drive cable and is configured to both rotate and translate the cutter. The cutter drive mechanism is further configured to reverse the transition direction of the cutter wile the drive provided by the rotary drive cable is in a continuous rotary direction.
