Indian childhood cirrhosis of the liver: a morphologic evaluation.

Indian childhood cirrhosis of the liver continues to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality of children living in the Indian sub-continent. The present paper deals with the morphological changes in various stages of the disease process. Ballooning and feathery degeneration of hepatocytes, complete absence of fatty change, frequent occurrence of intracytoplasmic hyaline bodies, dissection of pseudolobules by fibrous septa and fibrosis around single cell were notable features. A few cases also showed giant-cell transformation and pseudo-adenomatous arrangement of hepatocytes. The interpretation of morphologic changes has been discussed and the probability of a toxic aetiology has been suggested.