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apoptosis
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Diagram of a cell showing how extrinsic factors like nutrient loss and X-rays, and intrinsic factors like DNA damage and malformed proteins, trigger apoptosis, leading to cell breakdown and disposal by scavenger cells. Failure of DNA repair mechanismsDNA repair mechanisms maintain the integrity of DNA, which often acquires mutations during replication. If these mechanisms fail, or if the cell does not undergo apoptosis (a genetically encoded cell “suicide”), more mutations may occur, and the cells will proliferate. If the proliferation is slow and localized to the area in which it begins, the result is a benign tumour. With fast, uncontrolled growth and the invasion of other tissues, a malignant tumour arises.
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Diagram of a cell showing how extrinsic factors like nutrient loss and X-rays, and intrinsic factors like DNA damage and malformed proteins, trigger apoptosis, leading to cell breakdown and disposal by scavenger cells.
apoptosis Extrinsic and intrinsic factors of apoptosis.

apoptosis

cytology
Also known as: programmed cell death, programmed death, programmed life termination(Show More)
Written by
Paul H. Schlesinger
Associate professor of cell biology and physiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Mo.
Paul H. Schlesinger
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
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apoptosis, in biology, a mechanism that allows cells to self-destruct when stimulated by the appropriate trigger. Apoptosis can be triggered by mild cellular injury and by various factors internal or external to the cell; the damaged cells are then disposed of in an orderly fashion. As a morphologically distinct form of programmed cell death, apoptosis is different from the other major process of cell death known as necrosis. Apoptosis involves condensation of the nucleus and...

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