This course will cover the practical aspects of liver biopsy pathology as seen in a busy academic medical center and in a large academic community hospital. The aim of this course is to provide general pathologists and residents with simple diagnostic algorithms to enable them to make clinically relevant diagnoses to guide therapy and establish prognosis for liver diseases commonly seen in general pathology practice. Morphologic pattern recognition and clinicopathologic correlations for six major hepatic reaction patterns will be discussed: 1) chronic hepatitis, 2) fatty liver diseases, 3) biliary tract diseases, 4) acute diffuse hepatocellular injury, 5) hepatic granulomas/ macrophage reactions including the hepatic pathology of HIV disease, and 6) hepatic zonal/vascular injury. Each category will be represented by prototype cases with differential diagnoses. Staging and grading of disease entities as well as the importance of clinical history and serologic markers will be discussed as appropriate. Underlying mechanisms of injury as they relate to histologic profiles will be stressed where applicable. Cirrhosis will be presented as a progressive consequence of the above mentioned categories as necessary. The discussion will also emphasize unusual biopsy features superimposed on the expected diagnostic patterns which may allow the pathologist to alert the clinician to other etiologic possibilities. Pediatric liver disease, neoplasms/nodules and transplantation will not be discussed.

Case histories and a limited number of loan sets of glass slides will be available for advance mailing. All registrants will be mailed a set of transparencies after the meeting. A comprehensive syllabus will be distributed at the time of the course. (Last Scheduled Presentation)