Muscle cell death. Ultrastructural differences between muscle cell necrosis and apoptosis.

The morphology and incidence of muscle cell necrosis and apoptosis are presented. Necrosis which occurs as a massive tissue damage is structurally characterized by swelling of the muscle cell and disruption of cellular components. Apoptosis, on the other hand, is a process of active cellular self-destruction. It shows characteristic sequence of muscle cell shrinkage, which is ending in transformation of each muscle cell into compact apoptotic bodies that in turn are phagocytized by adjacent cells or macrophages.