Interruption of the nerve supply to an organ or other structure.
n. interruption of the nerve supply to the muscles and skin. The muscle is paralysed and its normal tone (elasticity) is lost. The muscle fibres atrophy (shrink) and are replaced by fat. A denervated area of skin loses all forms of sensation and its subsequent ability to heal and renew its tissues may be impaired.
Relaxed or lacking in sti?ness. Used to describe muscles that are not contracting (or following DENERVATION), and organs – for example, the penis – that are lying loose, empty, or with wrinkles. (Opposite: ?rm or erect.)... flaccid
n. the wasting away of a normally developed organ or tissue due to degeneration of cells. This may be physiological or pathological. Physiological atrophy occurs during embryonic life and the neonatal period (web spaces, notochord, umbilical vessels), in adolescence (the thymus), in adult life (the *corpus luteum during the menstrual cycle), and in a variety of organs and tissues in old age. Pathological atrophy may occur through starvation, disuse, denervation, abnormal hormonal stimulation, lack of hormonal stimulation, or ischaemia. Muscular atrophy is associated with various diseases, such as poliomyelitis.... atrophy
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