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[Kidney Biopsy - Technical and Diagnostic Aspects]
Abstract:
Nephropathology is a subdiscipline of pathology requiring specialized knowledge and technical equipment, and is therefore not offered by all pathology institutes. Specialized histopathological examinations of kidney biopsies began with the first percutaneous kidney biopsy in 1958, replacing urine analysis as the main diagnostic tool for kidney disease, which had been common since the Middle Ages. Nowadays, radiologists can also perform a transvenous biopsy when contraindications for a percutaneous biopsy are present. Special techniques are required to assess kidney biopsies, such as special staining, immunofluorescence, immunohistology and, in particular, electron microscopy. The ultrastructural examination of kidney biopsies is one of the few remaining routine applications of electron microscopy in pathology today.The following section will present and discuss the essential technical and methodological requirements for the detailed processing and diagnosis of kidney biopsies, as well as current developments in the field.
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