necrosis
Necrosis is when cells in your skin or other parts of your body die. Civil War soldiers with gangrene who had their limbs amputated suffered from necrosis.
You're not likely to come across the noun necrosis unless you're in a hospital or a medical school pathology class. It's a term that describes the death of cells in a living organism, usually after an infection or severe illness. It's not something most people need to worry about, unless they are bit by a brown recluse spider. Its venom has been shown to kill live cells in humans — in other words, to cause necrosis.
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the localized death of living cells (as from infection or the interruption of blood supply)synonyms: gangrene, mortification, sphacelustypes:myonecrosislocalized death of muscle cell fiberstype of:deaththe permanent end of all life functions in an organism or part of an organism
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Vocabulary lists containing necrosis
Learn these words related to branches of medicine and medical conditions. Here are links to our lists in the collection: Common Medical Terms, Tasks and Equipment, Hospital People and Places, Medical Branches and Conditions
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