Exam 3 Review:  Chapter 11:  Neuronal Growth and Development

regeneration - The regrowth of lost or destroyed parts or organs; a common potential for many cell types but very unlikely for others, such as neurons and striated muscle cells; the reproduction or renewal of tissues, cells, etc., which have been used up and destroyed by the ordinary processes of life; e.g., the continual regeneration of the epithelial cells of the body, or the regeneration of the contractile substance of muscle; the union of body parts which have been severed, so that they become anatomically perfect; e.g., the regeneration of a nerve.

trophic factor - A regulatory substance or chemical signal molecule which stimulates growth and development or stimulates increased metabolic activity of some sort; these are substances which are produced locally and have actions locally, though they may be transported internally along axons to cell bodies at 'distant' sites; this local interaction and stimulation may occur between cells of different types.

epidermal growth factor - A small mitogenic (causing cell divisions) protein, a local hormone, which is thought to be involved in mechanisms such as normal cell growth, oncogenesis (tumor generation), and wound healing; i.e., a kind of trophic factor.
 

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