Elongated medical instruments adapted to be permanently or temporarily
implanted in the mammalian body or used to access a site in the body to facilitate
introduction of a further medical device, and methods and apparatus for deflecting
the distal end and imparting curves in distal segments of such medical instruments
within the body by manipulation of a proximal segment of the instrument outside
the body are disclosed. Multiple portions of distal segments of a single one or
distal segments of coaxially arranged distal segments of deflectable coiled wires
are formed each having a line of spacers each functioning as a backbone along a
side of the wire coil and formed in a variety of ways. One or more elongated movable
wire extends through a coil lumen to one or more attachment point distal to each
portion that can be pushed to widen and/or pulled to narrow the spacing of coil
turns across the coil diameter from the line to induce a bend in all more proximal portions.
