Muscle biopsy in the diagnosis of neuromuscular disease

The use of the muscle biopsy in the diagnosis of neuromuscular disease is presented from the pathologist's point of view. The article is divided into three major sections. In the first section, planning and procedures are discussed including the efficacy of the muscle biopsy as a diagnostic tool, the necessity of correlation between the clinical history and the biopsy findings, and the collection and preparation of the muscle biopsy in the laboratory. The subject of the second section is the interpretation of the muscle biopsy. This section deals with the normal morphologic appearance of muscle and with the diverse pathologic reactions that may be observed in the biopsy. The diagnostic importance and specificity of each pathologic change is indicated. In the third section, the more commonly encountered neuromuscular diseases are considered, with emphasis on the clinical and pathologic features of each.