1.   Sixteen days after liver transplantation a deterioration in liver function tests occurred and liver biopsy showed cytomegalovirus inclusion bodies.

2.   Twenty five patients with acute liver failure were measured for hepatic venous pressure gradient as an index of portal pressure during the course of a transjugular liver biopsy.

3.   Transjugular liver biopsy allows histological and haemodynamic studies to be carried out during the course of fulminant hepatic failure.

4.   Histological evidence of chronic hepatitis was present in all patients who underwent a liver biopsy.

5.   Liver biopsies were taken within six months of entry to the study for histological assessment.