Biopsy of Needle-Specimens of Liver Tissue: VI. Comparison of Findings on Biopsy and at Autopsy

Abstract

Histologic lesions in 84 specimens of liver tissue obtained by the Vim-Silverman needle were compared with the alterations in the livers observed at necropsy. The biopsy detected the lesion in 73 specimens. In 11 instances the needle specimen did not contain the lesion and in all but one of these, the lesion was focal. The lesion most frequently missed was metastatic carcinoma (8 instances). In many patients a considerable interval elapsed between the date of taking the needle specimen and the date of the autopsy.