A catheter guidewire (500) configured for use in a body lumen to facilitate guiding of a catheter to a target location, including a thin elongate body of material forming a guidewire, having a proximal end (504), a distal end (518), and a mid portion disposed therebetween, and a longitudinal axis; and the elongate body having a plurality of transverse cuts therein forming transverse beams (514) extending generally crosswise of the longitudinal axis and spaced apart along the length of the body and axial beams generally parallel with the longitudinal axis, the configuration increasing the lateral flexibility of the body significantly more than it reduces the torsional stiffness thereof.