Atrophy

Atrophy

Atrophy is a wasting or thinning of tissues. The term is often applied to wasted muscles, usually in the context of lower motor neurone pathology (in which case it may be synonymous with amyotrophy), but also with disuse. Atrophy develops more quickly after lower, as opposed to upper, motor neurone lesions. It may also be applied to other tissues, such as subcutaneous tissue (as in hemifacial atrophy). Atrophy may sometimes be remote from the affected part of the neuraxis, hence a false-localizing sign, for example wasting of intrinsic hand muscles with foramen magnum lesions.

Cross References

Amyotrophy; "False-localizing signs"; Hemifacial atrophy; Lower motor neurone (LMN) syndrome; Wasting