ballooning degeneration

Ballooning degeneration and feathery degeneration - what is the difference?

Ballooning degeneration - another histopathologic finding of steatohepatitis.

Ballooning degeneration (disease)

The cytoplasm of cells undergoing ballooning degeneration is wispy/cobweb-like, while adipocyte-like cells have a clear cytoplasm or a vacuolated one.

Ballooning degeneration is somewhat similar in appearance to feathery degeneration, which is associated with cholestasis, and also has cytoplasmic clearing and cell swelling.

Ballooning degeneration - hepatocytes in the setting of alcoholic change often swell up with excess fat, water and protein; normally these proteins are exported into the bloodstream.

In histopathology, ballooning degeneration, formally ballooning degeneration of hepatocytes, is a form of liver parenchymal cell (i.e. hepatocyte) death.

Steatohepatitis is characterized microscopically by hepatic fat accumulation (steatosis), mixed lobular inflammation, ballooning degeneration of hepatocytes (sometimes with identifiable Mallory bodies), glycogenated hepatocyte nuclei, and pericellular fibrosis.

The histomorphological appearance of ballooning degeneration is not pathognomonic for steatohepatitis, but usage of the term is generally confined to the condition, i.e. in the context of other histopathological findings the label ballooning degeneration is not used for cell death with cytoplasmic clearing and cell swelling.