Liver biopsy

Liver biopsy
Medical diagnostics
Micrograph of a liver core needle biopsy showing cancer.
ICD-9-CM	50.1
MedlinePlus	003895
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Liver biopsy is the biopsy (removal of a small sample of tissue) from the liver. It is a medical test that is done to aid diagnosis of liver disease, to assess the severity of known liver disease, and to monitor the progress of treatment.

The first liver aspirate was performed by the German physician Paul Ehrlich in 1883. Percutaneous liver biopsy was first reported in the 1920s. The transjugular approach was pioneered by radiologist Charles Dotter in the 1970s.

Liver biopsies may be taken percutaneously (via a needle through the skin), transvenously (through the blood vessels) or directly during abdominal surgery. The sample is examined by microscope, and may be processed further by , determination of iron and copper content, and microbiological culture if tuberculosis is suspected

Liver biopsy is often required for the diagnosis of a liver problem (jaundice, abnormal blood tests) where blood tests, such as hepatitis A serology, have not been able to identify a cause. It is also required if hepatitis is possibly the result of medication, but the exact nature of the reaction is unclear. Alcoholic liver disease and tuberculosis of the liver may be diagnosed through biopsy. Direct biopsy of tumors of the liver may aid the diagnosis, although this may be avoided if the source is clear (e.g. spread from previously known colorectal cancer).