Histology of autoimmune hepatitis and its variants.

Autoimmune hepatitis does not have a pathognomonic feature, and its laboratory, serologic, and histologic manifestations are shared with a variety of acute and chronic liver diseases. The disease has active and quiescent phases and thus variable histologic appearances. This article outlines the many histologic faces of autoimmune hepatitis. It discusses the fulminant and acute forms, as well as the chronic hepatitic forms. Overlap syndromes with primary biliary cirrhosis and primary sclerosing cholangitis are described. The role of the pathologist in reporting the biopsies is discussed.