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Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: HOR-I25 |
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HYPERTROPHY (Gr. inrEp, over, and rpo(A, nourishment) , a term in medicine employed to designate an abnormal increase in bulk of one or more of the organs or component tissues of the body
PATHOLOGY
The conditions giving rise to hypertrophy are the reverse Other symptoms are very varied and differ widely in different of those described as producing ATROPHY (q.v.). They are concisely stated by Sir James Paget as being chiefly or only three, namely: (1) the increased exercise of a part in its healthy functions; (2) an increased accumulation in the blood of the particular materials which a part appropriates to its nutrition or in secretion; and (3) an increased afflux of healthy blood.Illustrations are furnished of the first of these conditions by the high development of muscular tissue under habitual active exercise; of the second in the case of obesity, which is an hyper-trophy of the fatty tissues, the elements of which are furnished by the blood; and of the third in the occasional overgrowth of hair in the neighbourhood of parts which are the seat of inflammation. Obviously therefore, in many instances, hypertrophy cannot be regarded as a deviation from health, but rather on the contrary as indicative of a high degree of nutrition and physical power. Even in those cases where it is found associated with disease, it is often produced as a salutary effort of nature to compensate for obstructions or other difficulties which have arisen in the system, and thus to ward off evil consequences. No better example of this can be seen than in the case of certain forms of heart disease, where from defect at some of the natural orifices of that organ the onward flow of the blood is interfered with, and would soon give rise to serious embarrassment to the circulation, were it not that behind the seat of obstruction the heart gradually becomes hypertrophied, and thus acquires greater propelling power to overcome the resistance in front. Again, it has been noticed, in the case of certain double
Hypertrophy may, however, in certain circumstances constitute a disease, as in goitre and elephantiasis
tissue , as is seen in the disease known as cirrhosis of the liver .A spurious hypertrophy is observed in the rare disease to which G. B. Duchenne applied the name of pseudo-hypertrophic paralysis. This ailment, which appears to be confined to children, consists essentially of a progressive loss of power accompanied with a remarkable enlargement of certain muscles or groups of muscles, more rarely of the whole muscular system. This increase of bulk is, however, not a true hypertrophy, but rather an excessive development of connective tissue in the substance of the muscles, the proper texture of which tends in consequence to undergo atrophy or degeneration. The appearance presented by a child suffering from this disease is striking. The attitude and gait are remarkably altered, the child standing
movement
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