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Morphopathology of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

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Essentials of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

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Abstract

In order to be able to diagnose NAFLD/NASH, we usually have to clinically exclude other liver diseases such as alcoholic hepatic steatosis, Wilson’s disease, acute and chronic viral hepatitis, or liver lesions caused by medication. Steatosis represents the most important aspect of NAFLD. Hepatocellular steatosis can be of two types: microvesicular steatosis (hepatocytes contain small fat vacuoles in the cytoplasm, with the nucleus located centrally) and macrovesicular steatosis (hepatocytes contain large or small well-defined fat vacuoles that can converge and push the nucleus to the periphery). In most cases of NAFLD, the steatosis is macrovesicular. Also, both intralobular inflammation and portal inflammation are present in NAFLD/NASH. The intralobular inflammation is frequently mild and is expressed by a polymorphic inflammatory infiltrate that contains both neutrophils and lymphocytes, plasma cells, Kupffer cells, and eosinophils. NAFLD requires histological differentiation from alcoholic liver disease, which can be a demanding task even when considering anamnesis and clinical aspects of the patients.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, Craiova, Romania

    Mirela Marinela Florescu & Dan Ionuț Gheonea

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  1. Mirela Marinela Florescu
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  2. Dan Ionuț Gheonea
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Correspondence to Dan Ionuț Gheonea .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Iasi, Romania

    Anca Trifan

  2. Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Iasi, Romania

    Carol Stanciu

  3. Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Iasi, Romania

    Cristina Muzica

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Florescu, M.M., Gheonea, D.I. (2023). Morphopathology of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. In: Trifan, A., Stanciu, C., Muzica, C. (eds) Essentials of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-33548-8_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-33548-8_8

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