Question

Cellular adaptation refers to changes made by a cell in response to adverse environmental changes. List the five (5) major types of cellular adaptation and write one sentence for each explaining what it is.

Answer 1

CELLULAR ADAPTATION 5 MAJOR TYPES

1. ATROPHY
2. HYPERTROPHY
3. HYPERPLASIA
4. DYSPLASIA
5. METAPLASIA

1. ATROPHY

It is  decrease in size of a body part, cell, organ, or other tissue. The term implies that the atrophied part was of a size normal for the individual, considering age and circumstance, prior to the diminution.In atrophy of an organ or body part, there may be a reduction in the number or in the size of the component cells, or in both.

Certain cells and organs normally undergo atrophy at certain ages or under certain physiologic circumstances. In the human embryo, for example, a number of structures are transient and at birth have already undergone atrophy

2.HYPERTROPHY

It is the increase in the volume of an organ or tissue due to the enlargement of its component cells. It is distinguished from hyperplasia, in which the cells remain approximately the same size but increase in number. Although hypertrophy and hyperplasia are two distinct processes, they frequently occur together, such as in the case of the hormonally-induced proliferation and enlargement of the cells of the uterus during pregnancy.

3.HYPERPLASIA

Hyperplasia, or hypergenesis, is an increase in the amount of organic tissue that results from cell proliferation. It may lead to the gross enlargement of an organ, and the term is sometimes confused with benign neoplasia or benign tumor. Hyperplasia is a common preneoplastic response to stimulus

4.DYSPLASIA

A term used to describe the presence of abnormal cells within a tissue or organ. Dysplasia is not cancer, but it may sometimes become cancer. Dysplasia can be mild, moderate, or severe, depending on how abnormal the cells look under a microscope and how much of the tissue or organ is affected. Enlarge.

5. METAPLASIA

is the reversible replacement of one differentiated cell type with another mature differentiated cell type. The change from one type of cell to another may generally be a part of normal maturation process or caused by some sort of abnormal stimulus.