Edit page | Page history | Printable version

Coagulation necrosis

a type of necrosis in which the affected cells or tissue are converted into a dry, dull, fairly homogeneous eosinophilic mass without nuclear staining, as a result of the coagulation of protein as occurs in an infarct; microscopically, the necrotic process involves chiefly the cells, and remnants of histologic elements (e.g., elastin, collagen, muscle fibres) may be recognizable, as well as ghosts of cells and portions of cell membranes; may be caused by heat, ischemia, and other agents that destroy tissue, including enzymes that would continue to alter the devitalised cellular substance.