The Vasculitides

© Dirk Biddle

1.8.1.2 Muscle

Muscle biopsies are similar to skin biopsies, except the surgeon must go deeper into tissue. Muscle biopsies are used to look for signs of damage to the muscle fibres as well as blood vessels. A muscle biopsy may be performed for many reasons, including:

  1. to distinguish between neurogenic (nerve) and myopathic (primarily muscle) disorders,
  2. to identify specific muscular disorders such as muscular dystrophy or congenital myopathy,
  3. to identify metabolic defects of the muscle,
  4. to diagnose diseases of the connective tissue and blood vessels (such as polyarteritis nodosa) and
  5. to diagnose infections that affect the muscles (such as trichinosis or toxoplasmosis).
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