A medical instrument for dissecting human and/or animal tissue comprises a shaft, a first tool and a second tool at a distal end of the shaft, the first tool and the second tool cooperating in the manner of a punch by means of an axial relative movement with respect to one another, and at least one of the tools comprising a cutting element which is arranged in such a way that it forms, with the other tool, a punch area that defines a plane which, with a longitudinal axis of the shaft, forms an angle in the area of the distal end of the shaft. The distally arranged tool tapers convexly in diameter toward the distal end in the longitudinal direction of the shaft, the external contour lines of the distally arranged tool intersecting, when viewed in a section through a longitudinal central plane, at an angle smaller than 160°.