Cell Injury, Cell Death and Adaptations

These flashcards cover key vocabulary terms and definitions from the lecture on cell injury, cell death, and adaptations.

Cell Injury

A state when a cell is exposed to an injurious agent/stress leading to its dysfunction.

Necrosis

A type of cell death due to disease, injury, or lack of blood supply, always pathological.

Apoptosis

Programmed cell death that occurs through the activation of an internally controlled suicide program.

Hypertrophy

Increase in the size of cells, commonly due to increased workload.

Hyperplasia

Increase in the number of cells in an organ or tissue, which may result in an increase in size.

Atrophy

Shrinkage in cell size or number, often due to decreased workload, loss of innervation, or inadequate nutrition.

Metaplasia

Reversible change where one differentiated cell type is replaced by another cell type.

Reversible Cell Injury

Cell injury that can recover once the injurious stimulus is removed.

Irreversible Cell Injury

Cell injury that leads to permanent damage, resulting in cell death.

Free Radicals

Highly reactive atoms with unpaired electrons that can cause cellular damage.

Oxygen Deprivation

Common cause of cell injury and death due to lack of oxygen, leading to hypoxia.

Pathological Calcification

Abnormal deposition of calcium salts in tissues, classified as dystrophic or metastatic.

Cellular Aging

Progressive decline in cellular function and viability due to genetic abnormalities and damage accumulation.

Dystrophic Calcification

Calcium deposition occurring locally in dying tissues.

Metastatic Calcification

Calcium deposition in otherwise normal tissues due to hypercalcemia.

Intracellular Accumulations

Manifestations of cellular derangements involving the buildup of abnormal substances.

Cellular Swelling (Hydropic Change)

The first manifestation of almost all forms of injury to cells, characterized by an increase in cell size due to failure of energy-dependent Na^+/K^+ pumps.

Hypoxia

A deficiency of oxygen which causes cell injury by reducing aerobic oxidative respiration.

Ischemia

Reduced blood supply to a tissue or organ, causing both oxygen deprivation and nutrient deficiency; often more rapid and severe than hypoxia alone.

Coagulative Necrosis

A form of necrosis where the architecture of dead tissues is preserved for several days; typical of infarcts in solid organs except the brain.

Liquefactive Necrosis

Necrosis characterized by digestion of dead cells, resulting in a liquid viscous mass; typically seen in bacterial/fungal infections or brain infarcts.

Caseous Necrosis

A cheese-like, friable yellow-white appearance of necrosis, most often seen in foci of tuberculous infection.

Fat Necrosis

Focal areas of fat destruction resulting from the release of activated pancreatic lipases, leading to the formation of visible chalky white areas (saponification).

Autophagy

A survival mechanism where a cell eats its own contents during periods of nutrient deprivation to maintain metabolism.

Oxidative Stress

Cellular condition caused by an accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that exceed the cell's antioxidant capacity.