View source for 20. Definition of hypertrophy and characteristics

''Written by ms Worldwide, edited by Nikolas''

Hypertrophy is when cells increase in size, making the tissue bigger without cells dividing.
[[File:Muscle hypertrophy gone wrong.jpg|thumb|Muscle hypertrophy gone wrong]]
Why and where does hypertrophy happen? There are many causes to this, and some forms of hypertrophy can cause a lot of harm to the body, like in the left ventricle. A quick overview over the causes:

* Gainz at the gym Increased functional demand will increase the size of individual muscle fibers. The protein synthesis and the number of myofilaments increase. In skeletal muscle, some hyperplasia is also present.
* Chronic hemodynamic overload (hypertension)
** Same as pumping iron, but the cardiac myocytes get bigger.
* Hormones

E.g. Estrogen during pregnancy makes the smooth muscle cells in the uterus increase their protein synthesis, and therefore increase their size, making it possible to carry an embryo.

Hypertrophy happens in cells that don’t divide, like neurons, cardiac myocytes and other muscle tissue like smooth or skeletal muscle.