5 topics with brief reviews: definitions, key facts, and class questions.
The body never gives up without a fight. Compensatory and adaptive processes are structural and functional survival mechanisms by which cells and tissues respond to changing environmental conditions and disease. In this section, we examine how the body attempts to maintain homeostasis on the verge of health and disease.
The section covers all key manifestations of adaptation: from tissue volume reduction in atrophy to tissue growth in hypertrophy. Regeneration (the ability to restore lost structures) is discussed separately, along with fundamental mechanisms and successive stages of compensation.
In practical classes and exams, instructors most often ask to explain the morphological difference between working and vicarious hypertrophy, provide examples of types of atrophy using macroscopic specimens, and describe the outcomes of the phases of the compensatory process (from establishment to decompensation). Understanding these topics is a fundamental step toward developing clinical thinking.
This is a type of age-related physiological atrophy in which granules of the lipofuscin pigment accumulate in reduced cells (e.g., hepatocytes), giving the tissue a characteristic brown color.
How does concentric hypertrophy differ from eccentric hypertrophy?
These terms apply to hollow organs, such as the heart. In the concentric type, the organ's walls thicken while its cavity narrows. In the eccentric type, the organ enlarges and its cavity expands.
Why do myocardial cells not divide upon injury?
The heart muscle requires constant and synchronous contraction of all elements. Cells cannot stop working to divide, so regeneration proceeds only at the intracellular level.
Why does tissue hypoxia occur during decompensation if there is sufficient oxygen in the blood?
Due to massive mitochondrial destruction. Cells lose the intracellular structures that are physically capable of utilizing the incoming oxygen.
How does hyperplasia differ from regeneration?
Hyperplasia is triggered to purposefully enhance organ function under increased load. Regeneration, however, is aimed at preserving or normalizing function after damage and physical tissue loss.
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