What does atrophy mean in medical term?

Atrophy: A wasting away or diminution. Muscle atrophy is a decrease in muscle mass, often due to extended immobility.

What atrophy means?

: decrease in size or wasting away of a body part or tissue also : arrested development or loss of a part or organ incidental to the normal development or life of an animal or plant.

What does muscle atrophy mean?

Muscle atrophy is the wasting (thinning) or loss of muscle tissue.

What are the 6 common causes of atrophy?

Causes of muscle atrophy

• lack of physical activity for an extended period of time.
• aging.
• alcohol-associated myopathy, a pain and weakness in muscles due to excessive drinking over long periods of time.
• burns.
• injuries, such as a torn rotator cuff or broken bones.
• malnutrition.
• spinal cord or peripheral nerve injuries.
• stroke.

What can cause atrophy?

Lack of physical activity due to an injury or illness, poor nutrition, genetics, and certain medical conditions can all contribute to muscle atrophy. Muscle atrophy can occur after long periods of inactivity. If a muscle does not get any use, the body will eventually break it down to conserve energy.

What are the symptoms of atrophy?

Muscle atrophy may accompany other symptoms affecting the neuromuscular system including:

• Balance problems, difficulty walking, and falls.
• Difficulty with speaking and swallowing.
• Facial weakness.
• Gradual difficulty walking and speaking, memory loss, tingling or weakness of extremities.
• Impaired balance and coordination.

What are the two types of atrophy?

Muscle atrophy is the wasting or loss of muscle tissue. There are two types of muscle atrophy: disuse and neurogenic. The first type of muscle atrophy is disuse atrophy and occurs from a lack of physical exercise. In most people, muscle atrophy is caused by not using the muscles enough.

Does atrophy cause death?

People typically live about seven to 10 years after multiple system atrophy symptoms first appear. However, the survival rate with MSA varies widely. Occasionally, people can live for 15 years or longer with the disease. Death is often due to respiratory problems.

What is an example of atrophy?

The reduction in size of tissue or organ, possibly after disease. For example when breaking an arm, the arm is temporarily put in a cast for the bone to heal in position. In light of this, many of the muscles in the arm lay unused for a period of time, and begin to waste away due to their redundancy.

What causes atrophy?

What are the 5 causes of atrophy?

Causes of atrophy include mutations (which can destroy the gene to build up the organ), poor nourishment, poor circulation, loss of hormonal support, loss of nerve supply to the target organ, excessive amount of apoptosis of cells, and disuse or lack of exercise or disease intrinsic to the tissue itself.