ABSTRACT
The work of liver stem cell biologists, largely carried out in rodent models, has now started to manifest in human investigations and applications. We can now recognize complex regenerative processes in tissue specimens that had only been suspected for decades, but we also struggle to describe what we see in human tissues in a way that takes into account the findings from the animal investigations, using a language derived from species not, in fact, so much like our own. This international group of liver pathologists and hepatologists, most of whom are actively engaged in both clinical work and scientific research, seeks to arrive at a consensus on nomenclature for normal human livers and human reactive lesions that can facilitate more rapid advancement of our field.
Subject(s)
Biliary Tract/anatomy & histology , Terminology as Topic , Humans , Liver/pathologyABSTRACT
Grading of the severity of chronic hepatitis and staging of its structural consequences are widely used in clinical trials of therapy and in research. Simple and complex methods are available. Intra- and interobserver variation can be reduced but not eliminated, because grading and staging are essentially subjective. The data are categorical rather than numerical and must be treated accordingly. Morphometry of fibrous tissue offers a different approach to biopsy assessment.
