Basic cellular pathophysiology:: repost (wit image) -- ATROPHY : a decrease or shrinkage in cellular size; if atrophy happens in sufficient number

of an organ's cells, the entire organ shrinks; can be physiological like thymus, pathological (disease process), or disuse; -- HYPERTROPHY :: an increase in the size of cells and consequently in size of affected organ; heart and kidneys are very prone; associated with increased accumulation of protein in the cellular components (PM, ER, mitochondria) and NOT with an increase in cellular fluid; can be physiologic or pathologic -- HYPERPLASIA :: an increase in the number of cells resulting from an increased rate of cellular division; as a response to injury, occurs when ijury has been severe and prolonged enough to have caused cell death; cells still relatively uniform, almost normal looking, just more of them; hormonal and pathologic -- METAPLASIA :: reversible replacement of one mature cell type by another, sometimes less differentiated, cell type; develops from a reprogramming of stem cells that exist on most epithelia or of undifferentiated mesenchymal cells present in connective tissue; Normal process (such as uterus); uniform to each other and relatively organized -- DYSPLASIA :: abnormal changes in the size, shape and organization of mature cells; no considered true adaptive process but is related to hyperplaia and is often called atypical hyperplasia; often encountered in epithelial tissue of the cervix and respiratory tract; can, but not always, turn to cancer