Which term describes normal programmed cell death in tissues?

• A. Necrosis due to infection
• B. Uncontrolled cell growth
• C. Normal programmed cell death in tissues
• D. Chronic inflammation

Answer: (C)

Apoptosis is the term for normal programmed cell death in tissues. It is a controlled, energy-dependent process that eliminates cells without provoking inflammation, using caspase cascades to cause cell shrinkage, chromatin condensation, DNA fragmentation, and phagocytic clearance of cellular debris. This contrasts with necrosis, where injury causes cell swelling and membrane rupture with an inflammatory response. It also differs from uncontrolled cell growth and chronic inflammation, which are about abnormal proliferation or persistent inflammatory processes, not the orderly removal of cells. So apoptosis best describes normal programmed cell death in tissues.