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How Do Skeletal Muscles Die? An Overview

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Respiratory Health

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((NR,volume 861))

Abstract

Clarifying the confusion regarding the term “muscle death” is of great importance, especially for clinicians. In response to various stimuli, skeletal muscle may undergo pathological changes, leading to muscle atrophy and consequently resulting in the loss of muscle strength and function. Depending on the stimulus, skeletal muscles can be induced to die through different mechanisms mainly via apoptosis, autophagy and necrosis. Muscle death may occur secondary to various physiological and pathological conditions such as aging, starvation, immobilization, denervation, inflammation, muscle diseases and cancer. This overview aims to elucidate the medical terminology and pathways used to describe muscle death, which are commonly confused. In addition, some of the common pathological conditions that lead to muscle death such as cachexia and sarcopenia of aging are dwelled on.

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Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest in relation to this article.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physical Therapy, University of Haifa, 199 Aba Khoushy Ave. Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel

    Eli Carmeli

  2. Orthodontic and Craniofacial Department, Graduate School of Dentistry, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel

    Dror Aizenbud

  3. Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel

    Oren Rom

Authors
  1. Eli Carmeli
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  2. Dror Aizenbud
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  3. Oren Rom
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eli Carmeli .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Nursing, Public Higher Medical Professional School in Opole, Opole, Poland

    Mieczyslaw Pokorski

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Carmeli, E., Aizenbud, D., Rom, O. (2015). How Do Skeletal Muscles Die? An Overview. In: Pokorski, M. (eds) Respiratory Health. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology(), vol 861. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/5584_2015_140

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