Pale, enlarged hepatocytes may be mistaken for normal or interpreted as fixation artifact
Needle biopsy of the liver shows diffuse hepatocyte swelling, imparting an overall pale appearance. Steatotic vacuoles are absent or rare. There is no lobular inflammation.
Liver biopsy from a patient with glycogenic hepatopathy shows diffuse enlargement of hepatocytes with pale, wispy cytoplasm and prominent cytoplasmic membranes
. Glycogenated hepatocyte nuclei 
are common.
The portal tracts appear normal in glycogenic hepatopathy
. They contain their normal structures, and there are no portal inflammatory cell infiltrates. The background hepatocytes 
are diffusely swollen and filled with glycogen.
PAS stain highlights the abundant glycogen in hepatocytes in a liver biopsy from a patient with glycogenic hepatopathy.
