Atrophy

Atrophy is the partial or complete wasting away of a part of the body. The causes of atrophy would include poor nourishment, poor circulation and loss of nerve supply to the target organ.

Since atrophy is a general physiological process of reabsorption and breakdown of tissues, a certain amount of atrophy can occur with disuse in muscles. Persons who have been immobilized for a long period of time may find that their leg muscles have lost mass and strength. This type of atrophy can be remedied and, usually, reversed with an excercise regimen. Astronauts have to exercise regularly to prevent the atrophy of their limbs while they are in zero gravity.

On the other hand, pathological atrophy is the result of disease. This occurs in one of two ways: the disease of the muscle or the disease of the nerves connected to the muscle. Examples of atrophying nerve desease are: poliomyelitis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease), and Guillain-Barre syndrome. Examples of atrophying muscle diseases are: muscular dystrophy, myotonia congenita, and myotonic dystrophy.

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