Muscle biopsy--still a matter of methodological considerations.

A method of open muscle biopsy is described which is not so invasive for the patient and not traumatic for the muscle tissue. The biopsy is performed with the patient under local cutaneous anesthesia. The sample can be obtained from a defined part of the muscle. It allows morphological-quantitative evaluation of a sufficient amount of fibers to arrive at reliable results. The advantages of the described method compared with other open and needle biopsy procedures, especially with regard to the method of anesthesia, are discussed.