ABSTRACT
It is not always easy to be sure that an intestinal biopsy is normal. Allowances have to be made for the mechanical effects of colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy – congestion (Section 3.9.5), haemorrhage (Section 3.9.6), exudation of small numbers of neutrophils (Section 3.8.2) – and for the effects of enemas and purgatives used in preparation for the endoscopy – slight mucin depletion (Section 3.7.1) and minor regenerative features (Section 3.7.2). The following are the features to be found in a normal biopsy, the pathologist having taken account of the variation mentioned above.
