from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
noun The restoration of blood flow to an organ or tissue that has had its blood supply cut off, as after a heart attack.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
noun medicine the restoration of bloodflow to an organ, after it was cut off (e.g. in an operation)
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Examples
Becker views cell death in cardiac arrest as a two-step process, beginning with oxygen deprivation, which sets up the cell for apoptosis; then the heart starts up again and the patient gets a lungful of oxygen, triggering what is called reperfusion injury.
Despite this, most MI patients suffer additional irreversible cardiac muscle cell loss, ironically as a result of these treatments - a condition known as reperfusion injury.
Despite this, most MI patients suffer additional irreversible cardiac muscle cell loss, ironically as a result of these treatments - a condition known as reperfusion injury.
Biologists are still grappling with the implications of this new view of cell death — not passive extinguishment, like a candle flickering out when you cover it with a glass, but an active biochemical event triggered by "reperfusion," the resumption of oxygen supply.
"Biologists are still grappling with the implications of this new view of cell death—not passive extinguishment, like a candle flickering out when you cover it with a glass, but an active biochemical event triggered by "reperfusion," the resumption of oxygen supply. The research takes them deep into the machinery of the cell, to the tiny membrane-enclosed structures known as mitochondria where cellular fuel is oxidized to provide energy. Mitochondria control the process known as apoptosis, the programmed death of abnormal cells that is the body's primary defense against cancer. "It looks to us," says Becker, "as if the cellular surveillance mechanism cannot tell the difference between a cancer cell and a cell being reperfused with oxygen. Something throws the switch that makes the cell die."
oroboros commented on the word reperfusion
"Biologists are still grappling with the implications of this new view of cell death—not passive extinguishment, like a candle flickering out when you cover it with a glass, but an active biochemical event triggered by "reperfusion," the resumption of oxygen supply. The research takes them deep into the machinery of the cell, to the tiny membrane-enclosed structures known as mitochondria where cellular fuel is oxidized to provide energy. Mitochondria control the process known as apoptosis, the programmed death of abnormal cells that is the body's primary defense against cancer. "It looks to us," says Becker, "as if the cellular surveillance mechanism cannot tell the difference between a cancer cell and a cell being reperfused with oxygen. Something throws the switch that makes the cell die."
--Newsweek 5/7/07 article "To Treat the Dead"
May 4, 2007
seanahan commented on the word reperfusion
Very interesting, good post Oroboros.
May 6, 2007