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General and Systemic Histopathology, C601&C602
     
    Slide 4: Liver with fatty metamorphosis
     
     
    The mottled staining pattern of the tissue is quite evident in this slide.  This tells us there is a lot of something that doesn't actually belong here.  Basically something of a non-water soluble nature.

    See this slide with the virtual microscope.

    This condition goes by several names. By some authors it is called fatty metamorphosis and by others fatty change. The former is the most widely used. It is a rather nonspecific alteration, but one we see commonly in biopsies of the liver. The fat vacuoles are within the hepatocytes. There is no "invasion" of the liver with lipocytes. In this slide there is little inflammation and the architecture of the liver is well preserved. The tissue is most likely from a diabetic patient, although the changes are common in alcoholics, those with various nutritional deficiencies and many other metabolic problems.

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