Abstract
In 1883 Paul Ehrlich was the first to carry out a liver biopsy while investigating the accumulation of glycogen in the liver in diabetics. It was not until 1957, when Menghini published his ingenious technique, that liver biopsy became accepted world-wide as a relatively safe procedure. Liver biopsy has remained an important diagnostic tool, although its role has changed. Only someone familiar with the technique and its contraindictations, and who has adequate knowledge of liver pathology to understand the therapeutic implications, can know the indication for liver biopsy, carry out the procedure and obtain maximum information out of this procedure. This chapter focuses on a few practical aspects of liver biopsy related to the indications, and discusses in greater detail contraindications and technical aspects of the procedure.
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Selected references
General aspects
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Van Leeuwen, D.J. (1997). Liver biopsy. In: Tytgat, G.N.J., Mulder, C.J.J. (eds) Procedures in Hepatogastroenterology. Developments in Gastroenterology, vol 15. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5702-5_17
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5702-5_17
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