Muscle biopsy

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Muscle biopsy

Biopsy - muscle

Normal muscle and related tissue anatomy. A microscopic examination with and without staining that shows no abnormalities is normal.

A muscle biopsy can help diagnose the following conditions:

• Atrophy (loss of muscle mass)
• Necrosis (tissue death) of muscle
• Inflammation of the muscle
• Necrotizing vasculitis
• Myopathic changes (destruction of the muscle)
• Muscular dystrophy
• Traumatic muscle damage
• Duchenne's muscular dystrophy
• Polymyositis
• Dermatomyositis

Additional conditions under which the test may be performed include:

• Becker's muscular dystrophy
• Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (hereditary)
• Common peroneal nerve dysfunction
• Eosinophilic fasciitis
• Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (Landouzy-Dejerine)
• Familial periodic paralysis
• Friedreich's ataxia
• Polymyalgia rheumatica
• Senile cardiac amyloid
• Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis

Review Date: 09/21/2006
Reviewed By: Jeffrey Kauffman, MD, Sacramento Knee and Sports Medicine, Sacramento, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.