apoptosis
English edit
Etymology edit
From Ancient Greek ἀπόπτωσις (apóptōsis, “a falling off”), from ἀπό (apó, “away from”) + πτῶσις (ptôsis, “falling”).
Pronunciation edit
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˌapɒpˈtəʊsɪs/
Audio (UK) (file) Audio (UK) (file) - (US) IPA(key): /ˌæ.pəˈtoʊ.sɪs/, /ˌæpəpˈtoʊsəs/
- Rhymes: -əʊsɪs
Noun edit
apoptosis (countable and uncountable, plural apoptoses)
- (biology, cytology) A process of programmed cell death by which cells undergo an ordered sequence of events which leads to death of the cell, as occurs during growth and development of the organism, as a part of normal cell aging, or as a response to cellular injury. [from 20th c.]
- 1972, J. F. R. Kerr, A. H. Wyllie, A. R. Currie, “Apoptosis: A Basic Biological Phenomenon with Wide-ranging Implications in Tissue Kinetics”, in British journal of cancer[1], volume 26, :
- The term apoptosis is proposed for a hitherto little recognized mechanism of controlled cell deletion, which appears to play a complementary but opposite role to mitosis in the regulation of animal cell populations.
- 1999, Matt Ridley, Genome, Harper Perennial, published 2004, page 238:
- Indeed, so important is apoptosis that it is gradually becoming clear that almost all therapeutic cancer treatment works only because it induces apoptosis by alerting p53 and its colleagues.
- 2011, Terence Allen, Graham Cowling, The Cell: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford, page 74:
- Apoptosis is routine in developmental processes such as the removal of webbing between fingers in humans, the loss of tadpole tails in amphibians, and insect metamorphosis.
Hypernyms edit
Coordinate terms edit
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
death of cells
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Spanish edit
Noun edit
apoptosis f (plural apoptosis)
Further reading edit
- “apoptosis”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014