Definition of apoptosis Apoptosis

/æˌpɔptowˈsɪz/ - [atpoptowsiz] -

We found 3 definitions of apoptosis from 3 different sources.

What does apoptosis mean?

WordNet

Noun

Plural: apoptoses

apoptosis - a type of cell death in which the cell uses specialized cellular machinery to kill itself; a cell suicide mechanism that enables metazoans to control cell number and eliminate cells that threaten the animal's survival

programmed cell death, caspase-mediated cell death

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OmegaWiki DictionaryOmegaWiki Dictionary Ω

apoptosis
The deliberate, programmed death of a cell. Apoptosis occurs\nas a normal part of life and helps the body stay healthy. If cells\nare damaged (for example, cancerous cells or cells infected\nwith HIV), the body orders those cells to die in order to contain the disease.\n(source AIDSinfo)

Wikipedia

Apoptosis is the planned cellular death and happens in most body cells every day. It is designed into the cell's DNA and is a "safe" and "controlled" death. The cell releases enzymes that destroy down the cell from the inside. The left over parts are then removed by other special cells called phagocytes.

Two ways of dying.

Cells can die in two ways, but apoptosis is preferred. The other way is messy and leaves the cell's contents all over nearby cells meaning they could become infected or damaged. This is how cancer and viruses spread.

Controlling the cell cycle.

Apoptosis is the normal end of a cell's life. At any point in time there may be too many cells in one area and the DNA

coding for apoptosis will activate in some of those cells and they will die safely. This is important to the overall functioning of the organism. If, for example, the making of liver cells were to speed up and they never died, the liver would no longer function properly. The liver cells would eventually take over the organism's body.

Cancer.

Cancerous cells do not undergo apoptosis and that is why they are such a problem. They continuously multiply until the host organ or the organism's body cannot function anymore. This occurs because the apoptosis coding has mutated and so has other coding. This causes rapid mitotic division of the unwanted cells. This is a cancerous growth. This rapid expansion can lead to some of the cells exploding, dumping it's mutated genes upon healthy cells. This is how canc