Abstract
Apoptosis is the term originally coined by Kerr, Wyllie and Currie (1972) to describe the ‘silent’ disposal of cells in tissues. It is a description of the morphology adopted by cells dying in normal physiological contexts, a process evolved for the removal of superfluous, unwanted and damaged cells during embryogenesis but also in mature tissues. Apoptosis occurs in nearly all cell types at one stage or another during the embryogenesis of multicellular organisms. The processes of involution and regression require apoptosis and classical examples are the death of interdigital mesenchymal cells during vertebrate limb development and the formation of kidney glomeruli. Apoptosis is essential in mature organ systems, for example during spermatogenesis, in the regression of the corpus luteum post-ovulation, in the turnover of specialised secretory epithelial cells lining the small intestine and in the resolution of inflammatory responses.
Published Version
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