Surgical stapling apparatus with articulatable components

A surgical stapling apparatus, comprising:

• a handle assembly including a movable handle and a stationary handle housing, said movable handle being movable through actuation strokes relative to said stationary handle housing;
• an actuation shaft supported at least in part within said handle housing and mounted to generate actuation motions in response to manipulation of said movable handle;
• and
• an elongated body assembly comprising:
• a proximal body segment protruding from said handle assembly and interfacing with said actuation shaft, said proximal body segment having a ball segment formed on a distal end thereof;
• and
• a distal body segment having a distal end configured to be operably attached to a disposable loading unit, said distal body segment further having a socket formed on a proximal end thereof, said socket sized to rotatably receive said ball segment therein;
• and
• an articulation system at least partially supported by said handle assembly and interfacing with said distal body segment of said elongated body assembly to selectively transmit at least one articulation motion to said distal body segment to cause said distal body segment to articulate in a first plane, said articulation system being further configured to selectively transmit at least one other articulation motion to said distal body segment to cause said distal portion to articulate in a second plane that is substantially orthogonal to said first plane.

A surgical stapling apparatus, comprising:

• a disposable loading unit;
• a handle assembly including a movable handle and a stationary handle housing, said movable handle being movable through actuation strokes relative to said stationary handle housing;
• an actuation shaft supported at least in part within said handle housing and mounted to generate actuation motions in response to manipulation of said movable handle;
• and
• an elongated body assembly comprising:
• a proximal body segment protruding from said handle assembly and interfacing with said actuation shaft;
• a distal body segment attached to the disposable loading unit;
• and
• an intermediate articulation joint coupling said distal body segment to said proximal body segment such that said proximal body segment and said distal body segment define a longitudinal axis and wherein said intermediate articulation joint enables said distal body segment to be selectively pivoted about an intermediate articulation axis that is substantially transverse to said longitudinal axis, and wherein said elongated body assembly is configured to transfer said actuation motions from said actuation shaft to the disposable loading unit.

A surgical stapling apparatus, comprising:

• a disposable loading unit;
• a handle assembly including a trigger;
• an actuation shaft connected to said handle housing and mounted to generate actuation motions in response to manipulation of said trigger;
• and
• an elongated body assembly comprising:
• a proximal body segment protruding from said handle assembly and interfacing with said actuation shaft;
• a distal body segment attached to the disposable loading unit;
• and
• an intermediate articulation joint coupling said distal body segment to said proximal body segment such that said proximal body segment and said distal body segment define a longitudinal axis and wherein said intermediate articulation joint enables said distal body segment to be selectively pivoted about an intermediate articulation axis that is substantially transverse to said longitudinal axis, and wherein said elongated body assembly is configured to transfer said actuation motions from said actuation shaft to the disposable loading unit.

A surgical stapling apparatus, comprising:

• a disposable loading unit;
• a handle assembly including a movable handle and a stationary handle housing, said movable handle being movable through actuation strokes relative to said stationary handle housing;
• an actuation shaft supported at least in part within said handle housing and mounted to generate actuation motions in response to manipulation of said movable handle;
• and
• an elongated body assembly comprising:
• a proximal body segment protruding from said handle assembly and interfacing with said actuation shaft, said proximal body segment having a ball segment formed on a distal end thereof;
• and
• a distal body segment having a distal end attached to the disposable loading unit, said distal body segment further having a socket formed on a proximal end thereof, said socket sized to rotatably receive said ball segment therein;
• and
• an articulation system at least partially supported by said handle assembly and interfacing with said distal body segment of said elongated body assembly to selectively transmit at least one articulation motion to said distal body segment to cause said distal body segment to articulate in a first plane, said articulation system being further configured to selectively transmit at least one other articulation motion to said distal body segment to cause said distal portion to articulate in a second plane that is substantially orthogonal to said first plane.