Apoptosis

1 definition found

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  apoptosis
       n : a type of cell death in which the cell uses specialized
           cellular machinery to kill itself; a cell suicide
           mechanism that enables metazoans to control cell number
           and eliminate cells that threaten the animal's survival
           [syn: {programmed cell death}, {caspase-mediated cell


           death}]