Atrophy: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 21:23, 29 November 2012
"Atrophy is the progessive reduction in the size of a tissue or organ."
Generalised atrophy can occur from starvation and also through the later stages of malignant disease. (e.g. carchexia.) The reduction in the size of any of the tissues and/organs is not specific.
Tissue-specific atrophy unlike generalised atrophy, only affects a specific tissue or organ system in the body. This normally occurs when there's a change directly involving that part of the body. (e.g. a leg that is in a cast for 6 weeks due to a fracture would undergo serious skeletal muscle
Ian Lyon - Biomedical Science Lecture Notes 2011 - Pages 10 & 11