This is the basic Metavir fibrosis scoring system:

0 = no scarring
1 = minimal scarring
2 = scarring has occurred and extends outside the areas in the liver that
contains blood vessels
3=bridging fibrosis is spreading and connecting to other areas that contain
fibrosis
4=cirrhosis or advanced scarring of the liver

Cheers

/greyhackles

Hi Jeff.  Two years ago my biopsy showed 0-1 fibrosis and grade 2
inflammation.   I had an ultrasound then and again recently.  A small
hemangioma (blood bubble) disappeared over the two years and in the recent
scan they found a small area (+/-1cm) of calcification and a small cyst. No
other abnormalities.  My internist/infectious disease doc says both are
common and neither is of much concern.  The calcification may be the
remnants of damage from the biopsy and the cyst is just a cyst - it is
apparently not a precancerous sort of thing -  nor is it a cirrhotic node.
So no worries arose from the utrasound.  My understanding is that
ultrasound images are useful for more-or-less "architectural" or
structural observations like cirrhosis, misc nodes and cysts,
calcifications and cancerous misbehaviour.  The images can also be useful
in characterising steatosis. I think they also show gross abnormalities in
the large blood vessels. Ultrasounds are not good for characterising
inflammation or fibrosis.  Hoever the procedure is far less expensive than
biopises and MRIs and might give helpful information (though not conclusive
in terms of prognosis)  for docs and patients weighing the various factors
of advanced liver disease.  I pasted a burb below.

Btw I have been interested in Oriental views of health and disease for a
long time and am especially fascinated by the philosophical and practical
gyrations that occur at the interface of East and West medicine.  I don't
chat about it much here because I weary of attacks from chronic skeptics.
Perhaps you will send me an email and we can exchange info and links?  

kjohyayhoo at  yahoo dot  com

Best wishes
Kathy
geno 1b relapser

Clinical Care Options  
Noninvasive Techniques: Radiology   

Computerized tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and ultrasonography
produce detailed cross-sectional images of the liver and its surrounding
structures. Today's techniques, however, do not provide sufficient
resolution to detect earlier stages of fibrosis prior to the development
of frank cirrhosis with portal hypertension, which can be determined by
identification of large varices, an enlarged caudate lobe, or
splenomegaly.
                           
Several simple modifications of ultrasonography can assist the anatomic
diagnosis of cirrhosis. The ratio of transverse caudate lobe width to
transverse right lobe width distinguishes cirrhotic from noncirrhotic
livers with a sensitivity of 84%, a specificity of 100%, and an accuracy
of 94%.[22] Approximately one dozen other sonographic and Doppler
techniques can detect cirrhosis with a reported accuracy of 82% to 88%.
Anatomical constraints and interobserver variability, however, remain
limiting factors. The clinical role of radiology is to confirm cirrhosis
in patients who show signs of advanced liver disease. These techniques may
also help support a diagnosis of cirrhosis in patients for whom biopsy
results are indeterminate or do not reflect clinical presentation.