Apoptosis is a distinct form of cell death that is functionally and morphologically different from necrosis. Nuclear chromatin condensation, cytoplasmic shrinking, dilated endoplasmi c reticulum, and membrane blebbing characterize apoptosis in general. Mitochondria remain morphologically unchanged. In 1972 Kerr et al introduced the concept of apoptosis as a distinct form of "cell-death", and the mechanisms of various apoptotic pathways are still being revealed today.
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