What is the term for the programmed cell death process?

Apoptosis is the term used to describe the programmed cell death process, a crucial mechanism in maintaining cellular health and homeostasis within an organism. This process allows cells to self-destruct in a controlled manner, which is important for various reasons, such as eliminating damaged or unwanted cells, shaping tissues during development, and regulating the immune response.

Unlike necrosis, which refers to unregulated cell death often due to injury or disease, apoptosis is a highly regulated and organized process that typically involves specific signaling pathways. It also differs from cell division, which is the process of a cell dividing to form new cells. Proliferation refers to the increase in the number of cells through division and is not related to the process of cell death at all.

Understanding apoptosis is essential in many biological fields, including developmental biology, cancer research, and immunology, as it plays a key role in both normal and abnormal cellular processes.