Brown atrophy of the heart
Encyclopedia
Brown atrophy of the heart is atrophy
Muscle atrophy
Muscle atrophy, or disuse atrophy, is defined as a decrease in the mass of the muscle; it can be a partial or complete wasting away of muscle. When a muscle atrophies, this leads to muscle weakness, since the ability to exert force is related to mass...

 of the heart muscle (or myocardium
Cardiac muscle
Cardiac muscle is a type of involuntary striated muscle found in the walls and histologic foundation of the heart, specifically the myocardium. Cardiac muscle is one of three major types of muscle, the others being skeletal and smooth muscle...

) commonly found in the elderly . It is described as brown because fibers become pigmented
Biological pigment
Biological pigments, also known simply as pigments or biochromes are substances produced by living organisms that have a color resulting from selective color absorption. Biological pigments include plant pigments and flower pigments...

 by intracellular lipofuscin
Lipofuscin
Lipofuscin is the name given to finely granular yellow-brown pigment granules composed of lipid-containing residues of lysosomal digestion. It is considered one of the aging or "wear-and-tear" pigments, found in the liver, kidney, heart muscle, adrenals, nerve cells, and ganglion cells...

 deposits (mostly around the cell nucleus
Cell nucleus
In cell biology, the nucleus is a membrane-enclosed organelle found in eukaryotic cells. It contains most of the cell's genetic material, organized as multiple long linear DNA molecules in complex with a large variety of proteins, such as histones, to form chromosomes. The genes within these...

) a type of lipochrome
Lipochrome
Lipochrome is a form of pigment associated with amber and gold tones in human eyes and the eyes of other mammals.The term carotenoid is sometimes considered a synonym, but that term usually refers to specific molecules, while lipochrome refers to accumulations of varied molecules....

 granule
Granule
Granule is a generic term used for a small particle or grain. The generic term is employed in a variety of specific contexts.* Granule , visible structures in the photosphere of the Sun arising from activity in the Sun's convective zone...

.

It has no known effect on function , and is described as being expected or normal in ageing.

Other types of brown atrophy include brown atrophy of neuronia and brown atrophy of the liver.

See also

  • Atrophy
    Atrophy
    Atrophy is the partial or complete wasting away of a part of the body. Causes of atrophy include mutations , poor nourishment, poor circulation, loss of hormonal support, loss of nerve supply to the target organ, disuse or lack of exercise or disease intrinsic to the tissue itself...

     (relating to all tissues, see Muscle atrophy
    Muscle atrophy
    Muscle atrophy, or disuse atrophy, is defined as a decrease in the mass of the muscle; it can be a partial or complete wasting away of muscle. When a muscle atrophies, this leads to muscle weakness, since the ability to exert force is related to mass...

     for atrophy in muscle tissue).
  • Xanthosis
    Xanthosis
    Xanthosis is a type of skin-related disease where one has an abnormal yellow discolouration of the skin, resulting from the accumulation of cholesterol within the skin cells. It can also have such affect that there may be a yellowish discoloration of degenerating tissues, especially seen in...


External links

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