Pathology · Pathology · Hard

Hypertrophy

Meaning: An increase in the size of an organ or tissue due to enlarged cells.

In practice: Cardiac hypertrophy occurs when the heart muscle thickens under pressure.

Word parts

  • hyper- means above or more than normal
  • -trophy means growth or nourishment

Many medical words are built from Greek and Latin parts like these, so learning a few helps you work out new terms.

Quick check

Two questions on related pathology words.

Which word means: Fibrous tissue that forms over a wound after healing, replacing normal skin.

Which word means: Malignancy of plasma cells that infiltrate the bone marrow.

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