The term for tissue death is?

The term for tissue death is?

• A. -necrosis
• B. -itis
• C. -malacia
• D. -osis

Answer: (A)

Tissue death is called necrosis. The root necr- means death, and the suffix -osis signals a condition or process, so necrosis names the state of dead tissue resulting from injury, lack of blood supply, toxins, or infection. This is why it’s the correct term: it precisely describes the dying or dead tissue, unlike -itis (inflammation), -malacia (softening), or -osis (an abnormal condition or disease state). In medical use you might hear about coagulative necrosis in heart tissue after a heart attack, which helps illustrate the concept of tissue death in a specific context.

Tissue death is called necrosis. The root necr- means death, and the suffix -osis signals a condition or process, so necrosis names the state of dead tissue resulting from injury, lack of blood supply, toxins, or infection. This is why it’s the correct term: it precisely describes the dying or dead tissue, unlike -itis (inflammation), -malacia (softening), or -osis (an abnormal condition or disease state). In medical use you might hear about coagulative necrosis in heart tissue after a heart attack, which helps illustrate the concept of tissue death in a specific context.