Ischemic cell death, or Oncosis, is a form of accidental, or passive cell death that is oftentimes considered a lethal injury. The process is characterized by mitochondrial swelling

Swelling

Swelling , is the enlargement of tissue.Swelling can also mean:*Die swell, the increase of volume of material due to absorption of a solvent, common for plastic polymers*Neutron-induced swelling caused by neutron radiation....

, cytoplasm

Cytoplasm

The cytoplasm is a small gel-like substance residing between the cell membrane holding all the cell's internal sub-structures , except for the nucleus. All the contents of the cells of prokaryote organisms are contained within the cytoplasm...

 vacuolization

Vacuolization

Vacuolization is the formation of vacuoles within or adjacent to cells, and, in dermatopathology, often refers to the basal cell-basement membrane zone area....

, and swelling of the 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...

 and cytoplasm.

Etymology

Although ischemic cell death is the accepted name of the process, the alternative name of oncosis was introduced as the process involves the affected cell(s) swelling to an abnormally large size in known models. This is thought to be caused by failure of the plasma membrane's ionic pumps. The name oncosis (derived from ónkos, meaning swelling) was first introduced in 1910 by pathologist Friedrich Daniel von Recklinghausen

Friedrich Daniel von Recklinghausen

Friedrich Daniel von Recklinghausen was a German pathologist who practiced medicine in Würzburg and Strassburg . Born in Gütersloh, Westphalia, he was the father of physiologist Heinrich von Recklinghausen ....

.