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How to Take a Biopsy

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Autoimmune Bullous Diseases

Abstract

The skin is an organ that is easy to sample for microscopy. Sections of the skin may reveal the split level of the blister, the type and distribution of invading inflammatory cells, and the presence, class, and distribution pattern of autoantibodies. For this, one needs to take a biopsy from a location with smallest change of sample error and specially fixate and the transport the specimen for the requested microscopic technique. All together, this is the playing ground of the dermatologist. Due to special transport requirements, dermatologists even take conjunctiva biopsies for immunofluorescence (IF) in case of suspicion of an autoimmune bullous disease of the eye.

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References

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Additional Reading

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology, Center for Blistering Diseases, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands

    Marcel F. Jonkman MD, PhD

  2. Departments of Pathology and Medical Biology, Center for Blistering Diseases, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands

    Gilles F. H. Diercks MD, PhD

Authors
  1. Marcel F. Jonkman MD, PhD
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  2. Gilles F. H. Diercks MD, PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marcel F. Jonkman MD, PhD .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology, University Medical Center Groningen Center for Blistering Diseases, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Marcel F. Jonkman

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© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Jonkman, M.F., Diercks, G.F.H. (2016). How to Take a Biopsy. In: Jonkman, M. (eds) Autoimmune Bullous Diseases. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23754-1_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23754-1_3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-23753-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-23754-1

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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