The histological features of chronic viral hepatitis differ according
to etiological agent and replicative phases. Thus, in chronic HBV hepa
titis with a high level of HBV replication the histological lesion is-
generally mild. During the seroconversion phase, a lobular lesion ig p
resent in the liver biopsy followed by amelioration of the disease. Ch
ronic delta hepatitis is very aggressive histologically, progression t
o cirrhosis is frequent, and sanded nuclei are often observed in liver
biopsies of patients with anti-HIV. In contrast, chronic hepatitis C
shows a milder histological picture and immunohistochemical techniques
to detect HCV-Ag in the liver tissue should be developed. In summary,
the majority of cases of chronic viral hepatitis have distinctive his
tological features that may be identified in liver biopsies.