1. decrease in size of a normally developed organ or tissue; wasting.
2. to undergo or cause atrophy.
- disuse a. — atrophy of local musculature due to failure to use a part of the body, due usually to pain. Is separate from neurogenic atrophy when nerve damage causes atrophy from both disuse and denervation.
- iris a. — occurs with aging, particularly in Siamese cats and miniature schnauzers and poodles; may be secondary to trauma, recurrent uveitis and chronic glaucoma.
- mammary a. — the terminal stage of chronic mastitis; palpation establishes that little mammary tissue remains and inflammatory fibrous tissue has subsided.
Blind quarter (atrophy) in a cow following mastitis. By permission from Blowey RW, Weaver AD, Diseases and Disorders of Cattle, Mosby, 1997 - optic a. — atrophy of the optic nerve; may occur with trauma, prolonged inflammatory diseases of the eye, and retinal degeneration.
- retinal a. — see progressive retinal atrophy.
- serous a. — in cachexia there is mobilization of depot fat and lipid vacuoles are progressively reduced in size and replaced by proteinaceous fluid which converts the fat depots to gelatinous masses of serous atrophy.
- villous a. — a common finding in a variety of intestinal diseases of animals, including viral, bacterial and protozoal infections, parasitism, hypersensitivity reactions in the bowel and alimentary lymphosarcoma. Malabsorption and diarrhea result. An idiopathic, possibly immune-mediated, villous atrophy occurs in dogs.
