(pathology) The polymerization and contraction of the nuclear chromosomal components.
Pyknosis
| Sci-Tech Dictionary: pyknosis |
(pik′nō·səs)
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| Dental Dictionary: pyknosis |
(piknō′sis)
n
n
Increased basophilia and shrinkage of the nucleus of a dying cell.
| Veterinary Dictionary: pyknosis |
A thickening, especially degeneration of a cell in which the nucleus shrinks in size and the chromatin condenses to a solid, structureless mass or masses.
| Wikipedia: Pyknosis |
Pyknosis, or karyopyknosis, is the irreversible condensation of chromatin in the nucleus of a cell undergoing apoptosis[1]. It is followed by karyorrhexis, or fragmentation of the nucleus. Pyknosis (from Greek pyknotikos meaning "to condense") is also observed in the maturation of erythrocytes (a red blood cell) and the neutrophil (a type of white blood cell). The maturing metarubicyte (a stage in RBC maturation) will condense its nucleus before expelling it to become a reticulocyte. The maturing neutrophil will condense its nucleus into several connected lobes that stay in the cell until the end of its cell life.
See also
References
- ^ Kroemer G et al. (2009). "Classification of cell death: recommendations of the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death 2009.". Cell Death and Differentiation 401 (127). http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18846107?ordinalpos=45&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum.
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 | Karyorrhexis |
| Karyolysis |
| Experimental pathology |
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 | Sci-Tech Dictionary. McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms. Copyright © 2003, 1994, 1989, 1984, 1978, 1976, 1974 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Dental Dictionary. Mosby's Dental Dictionary. Copyright © 2004 by Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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