Muscle biopsy
Encyclopedia
In medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....

, a muscle biopsy is a procedure in which a piece of muscle
Muscle
Muscle is a contractile tissue of animals and is derived from the mesodermal layer of embryonic germ cells. Muscle cells contain contractile filaments that move past each other and change the size of the cell. They are classified as skeletal, cardiac, or smooth muscles. Their function is to...

 tissue
Biological tissue
Tissue is a cellular organizational level intermediate between cells and a complete organism. A tissue is an ensemble of cells, not necessarily identical, but from the same origin, that together carry out a specific function. These are called tissues because of their identical functioning...

 is removed from an organism
Organism
In biology, an organism is any contiguous living system . In at least some form, all organisms are capable of response to stimuli, reproduction, growth and development, and maintenance of homoeostasis as a stable whole.An organism may either be unicellular or, as in the case of humans, comprise...

 and examined microscopically
Microscopy
Microscopy is the technical field of using microscopes to view samples and objects that cannot be seen with the unaided eye...

. A biopsy needle
Needle aspiration biopsy
Needle aspiration biopsy , may refer to fine needle aspiration cytology , fine needle aspiration biopsy and fine needle aspiration , is a diagnostic procedure sometimes used to investigate superficial lumps or masses...

 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
Nervous system
The nervous system is an organ system containing a network of specialized cells called neurons that coordinate the actions of an animal and transmit signals between different parts of its body. In most animals the nervous system consists of two parts, central and peripheral. The central nervous...

, connective tissue
Connective tissue
"Connective tissue" is a fibrous tissue. It is one of the four traditional classes of tissues . Connective Tissue is found throughout the body.In fact the whole framework of the skeleton and the different specialized connective tissues from the crown of the head to the toes determine the form of...

, vascular system, or musculoskeletal system
Musculoskeletal system
A musculoskeletal system is an organ system that gives animals the ability to move using the muscular and skeletal systems...

. 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", but research has shown that a variety of myopathies can cause these centronuclear biopsy appearance, and hence the specific genetic testing
Genetic testing
Genetic testing is among the newest and most sophisticated of techniques used to test for genetic disorders which involves direct examination of the DNA molecule itself. Other genetic tests include biochemical tests for such gene products as enzymes and other proteins and for microscopic...

 becomes increasingly important.
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/her body.

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See also

  • Atrophy
    Atrophy
    Atrophy is the partial or complete wasting away of a part of the body. Causes of atrophy include mutations , poor nourishment, poor circulation, loss of hormonal support, loss of nerve supply to the target organ, disuse or lack of exercise or disease intrinsic to the tissue itself...

  • Necrosis
    Necrosis
    Necrosis is the premature death of cells in living tissue. Necrosis is caused by factors external to the cell or tissue, such as infection, toxins, or trauma. This is in contrast to apoptosis, which is a naturally occurring cause of cellular death...

     (possibly of muscle fibers)
  • Necrotizing vasculitis
  • Muscular dystrophy
    Muscular dystrophy
    Muscular dystrophy is a group of muscle diseases that weaken the musculoskeletal system and hamper locomotion. Muscular dystrophies are characterized by progressive skeletal muscle weakness, defects in muscle proteins, and the death of muscle cells and tissue.In the 1860s, descriptions of boys who...

  • Duchenne muscular dystrophy
    Duchenne muscular dystrophy
    Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a recessive X-linked form of muscular dystrophy, which results in muscle degeneration, difficulty walking, breathing, and death. The incidence is 1 in 3,000 boys. Females and males are affected, though females are rarely affected and are more often carriers...

  • Becker's muscular dystrophy
    Becker's muscular dystrophy
    Becker muscular dystrophy is an X-linked recessive inherited disorder characterized by slowly progressive muscle weakness of the legs and pelvis....

  • Myotubular myopathy
  • Centronuclear myopathy
  • Electromyogram
  • Trichinosis
    Trichinosis
    Trichinosis, also called trichinellosis, or trichiniasis, is a parasitic disease caused by eating raw or undercooked pork or wild game infected with the larvae of a species of roundworm Trichinella spiralis, commonly called the trichina worm. There are eight Trichinella species; five are...

  • Toxoplasmosis
    Toxoplasmosis
    Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii. The parasite infects most genera of warm-blooded animals, including humans, but the primary host is the felid family. Animals are infected by eating infected meat, by ingestion of feces of a cat that has itself...

  • Myasthenia gravis
    Myasthenia gravis
    Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune neuromuscular disease leading to fluctuating muscle weakness and fatiguability...

  • Polymyositis
    Polymyositis
    Polymyositis is a type of chronic inflammation of the muscles related to dermatomyositis and inclusion body myositis.-Signs and symptoms:...

  • Dermatomyositis
    Dermatomyositis
    Dermatomyositis is a connective-tissue disease related to polymyositis and Bramaticosis that is characterized by inflammation of the muscles and the skin.- Causes :...

  • Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
    Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
    Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a form of motor neuron disease caused by the degeneration of upper and lower neurons, located in the ventral horn of the spinal cord and the cortical neurons that provide their efferent input...

  • Friedreich's ataxia
    Friedreich's ataxia
    Friedreich's ataxia is an inherited disease that causes progressive damage to the nervous system, resulting in symptoms ranging from gait disturbance to speech problems; it can also lead to heart disease and diabetes....

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