Muscle biopsy 1392444 155560799 2007-09-04T04:14:05Z IceCreamAntisocial 346507 link repair ([[Wikipedia:WikiProject Red Link Recovery|You can help!]]) In [[medicine]], a '''muscle biopsy''' is a procedure in which a piece of [[muscle]] [[Biological tissue|tissue]] is removed from an [[organism]] and examined [[Microscopy|microscopically]]. A [[needle aspiration biopsy|biopsy needle]] is usually inserted into a muscle, wherein a small amount of tissue remains. Alternatively, an "open biopsy" can be performed by obtaining the muscle tissue through a small surgical incision. A muscle biopsy can lead to the discovery of problems with a [[nervous system]], [[connective tissue]], [[vascular system]], or [[musculoskeletal system]]. In humans with weakness and low muscle tone, a muscle biopsy can help distinguish between [[myopathies]] (where the pathology is in the muscle tissue itself) and [[neuropathies]] (where the pathology is at the nerves innervating those muscles). Muscle biopsies can also help to distinguish among various types of [[myopathies]], by microscopic analysis for differing characteristics when exposed to a variety of chemical reactions and stains. However, in some cases the muscle biopsy alone is inadequate to distinguish between certain myopathies. For example, a muscle biopsy showing the nucleus pathologically located in the center of the muscle cell would indicate "[[Centronuclear myopathy (including myotubular myopathy)|centronuclear myopathy]]", but research has shown that a variety of [[myopathies]] can cause these centronuclear biopsy appearance, and hence the specific [[genetic testing]] becomes increasingly important. [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=16042307&query_hl=10&itool=pubmed_docsum] [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=16227997&query_hl=4&itool=pubmed_docsum] Additionally muscle biopsy is the only certain way to clarify ones muscle fiber types. I.e. by undergoing a muscle biopsy one can get a clear picture of which type of muscles dominates his/hers body. == See also == * [[Atrophy]] * [[Necrosis]] (possibly of muscle fibers) * [[Necrotizing vasculitis]] * [[Muscular dystrophy]] * [[Duchenne muscular dystrophy]] * [[Becker's muscular dystrophy]] * [[Centronuclear myopathy (including myotubular myopathy)|Myotubular myopathy]] * [[Centronuclear myopathy (including myotubular myopathy)|Centronuclear myopathy]] * [[Electromyogram]] * [[Trichinosis]] * [[Toxoplasmosis]] * [[Myasthenia gravis]] * [[Polymyositis]] * [[Dermatomyositis]] * [[Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis]] * [[Friedreich's ataxia]] [[Category:Medical tests]] [[Category:Muscular system]] [[nl:Spierbiopt]] {{muscle-stub}}