Patterns of Liver Injury

Liver response to injury includes a relatively narrow spectrum of morphologic changes, and accordingly there are only several pathologic patterns that can be recognized microscopically. First of all one must determine if the liver biopsy is from a native liver or from a liver transplant. If it is native liver one must decide if the liver was biopsied for a mass lesion requiring a tumor diagnosis or a diffuse liver disease. Relevant patient data provided by the clinician is always welcome and encouraged to provide appropriate contextual review. First, diffue liver disease should be divided into acute and chronic liver disease. Next, the liver is classified according the predominent pattern of injury. Then, after incorporation of clinical information and laboratory data, a differential diagnosis can be rendered.