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Muscle biopsy

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Muscle biopsy

Muscle biopsy

Alternative Names:

Biopsy - muscle
Normal Values:

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

What abnormal results mean:

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A muscle biopsy can reveal conditions such as the following:

Atrophy (loss of muscle mass)
Necrosis (tissue death) of muscle fibers
Inflammation of the muscle
Necrotizing vasculitis
Myopathic changes (destruction of the muscle)
Muscular dystrophy, indicated by antibody staining of the muscle biopsy specimen that can show deficient dystrophin
Traumatic muscle damage
Duchenne's muscular dystrophy
Polymyositis
Dermatomyositis

Additional conditions under which the test may be performed include the following:

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