**Risks and Benefits of Liver Biopsy in Focal Liver Disease**

Letiția Adela Maria Streba, Eugen Florin Georgescu and Costin Teodor Streba

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/52620

**1. Introduction**

Even with the recent evolution of imaging techniques, and with the ever-increasing role of serum markers, direct analysis of tissue samples maintains its role in modern medicine. This is especially true for the diagnosis and assessment of the prognosis and evolution of a series of viral, tumoral and inflammatory liver diseases. Thus, liver biopsy and histological assess‐ ment of the liver parenchyma can still be called by many the "gold standard" in diagnosis and staging of associated disease. However, liver biopsy in itself implies a series of risks and inherent discomfort for the patient. With the increasing availability of other non-invasive methods routinely used in diagnosis and staging of liver-related diseases, many debate the necessity and ethical implications of tissue sampling.

In the following pages, we will try and synthetize the historical evolution of liver biopsy, describe the techniques used over the years and present its current recommendations and their alternatives, with focus on the so-called "virtual liver biopsy" techniques currently employed.
