[Immunopathological aspects of liver cirrhosis]

After a short historical retrospect and a comment on the nomenclature and on the notion of chronic hepatitis and liver cirrhosis the diagnostic criteria and immunopathological peculiarities of virus-induced HBsAg-positive, non-virus-induced autoimmune, drug-induced and finally cryptogenic chronically progressing liver diseases are discussed. Immunoserology and immunohistology are nowadays to be regarded as the most important enrichments in the diagnostic spectre for the differentiation of chronic inflammatory liver diseases. In order to complete the diagnostic programme and to understand the pathogenesis of cryptogenic chronic hepatitides as soon as possible an establishment of the hepatitis-A- and C-serology is necessary. Apart from a further analysis of the group of the non-B-hepatitides the diagnostic use of other markers of virus hepatitides will be able to adopt a definite attitude to the unclarified question of virus-induced autoimmunopathies in liver diseases. The primary biliary cirrhosis with the morphologic findings of a chronically destructing, non-purulent cholangitis is an immunologically conditioned liver diseases of unknown etiology, which in contrast to the autoimmune chronic active hepatitides and liver cirrhoses is not to be influenced in the course by therapeutic measures.