atrophy /at″rəfē/ [Gk, a + trophe, without nourishment] , a wasting or decrease in size or physiological activity of a part of the body because of disease or other influences. A skeletal muscle may undergo atrophy as a result of lack of physical exercise or neurological or musculoskeletal disease. Cells of the brain and central nervous system may atrophy in old age because of restricted blood flow to those areas. See also abiotrophy, aging. −atrophic, adj., −atrophy, v.
