Essential Concepts in Molecular Pathology

A common theme in disease is death of cells. In diseases ranging from stroke to alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver, death of individual cells leads to irreversible functional loss in whole organs and ultimately mortality. For such diseases, prevention of cell death becomes a basic therapeutic goal. By contrast in neoplasia, the purpose of chemotherapy is to kill proliferating cancer cells. For either therapeutic goal, understanding the mechanisms of cell death becomes paramount.