It is important not to make absolute statements about clinical symptoms and liver function tests. For example, clinically elevated ALT and AST are often indicative of significant inflammatory activity in the liver, but one should not directly say that the patient has hepatitis. The absence of symptoms does not mean that liver function is normal, nor does a normal transaminase level mean that the liver is not damaged. Liver function tests are really only concepts in a mathematical sense and cannot be used as a final basis for diagnosis.