CHAPTER VII. 



'PATKO'LOGY—conti7iued. 



ATEOPHY AND DEGENEEATION"S OF TlSSJJE—contimced. 



DEGENEEATIOXS. 



Atrophy and Degeneration resemble one another, in so far 

 that, in both, nutrition is impaired and function interfered with. 

 In atrophy the part may be said to be altered in quantity, the 

 waste of the tissue being in excess of the formation of new 

 material. In degeneration, however, the structure of the part is 

 altered in quality, a new formation being present in the tissues, 

 impairing their vitality and interfering with their functional 

 activity. 



The degenerations are divided into two classes, namely, the 

 Metamorjplwses and the Infiltrations. 



THE METAMORPHOSES. 



These consist of an alteration in the albuminoid structures, 

 whereby they are changed into new materials, with disappear- 

 ance of the elements of the tissue proper, softening of the inter- 

 cellular substance, and loss of function. The metamorphoses 

 are the fatty, calcareous, mucoid^ colloid, pigmentary, and amyloid 

 degenerations. 



FATTY DEGENERATION. 



Tliis is the most common of the degenerations, and consists 

 in the transformation of the albuminoid constituents into fat, 

 or rather in the replacement of the healthy tissues of a part 

 by drops or molecules of an oily nature, which appear as 



