A probe for examining viscoelasticity and anisotrophy of an area of an external layer of a living or artificial tissue, comprises an assembly (34) including at least one group of piezoelectric spaced-apart transducers (78,80,82), each having a surface contact making edge, wherein one of said transducers operates as a transmitter and at least one other transducer operates as a receiver, and wherein said assembly is movable both axially, as well as angularly; means for effecting the controlled axial movement (22,24) of said assembly; means for controlling the contact pressure (24) to be exerted by the transducers on the surface of an area of a tissue to be examined, and means for effecting angular movement of said assembly (18,20) at a selected axial displacement.