Do our cells grow in proportion as we grow
Cells are the fundamental units that make up our body, So what the results are to them when we grow do they get bigger? according to one expert who spends his days looking closely at cells, the simplest way generally no, but sometimes yes.
"There are exceptions to the rule as there is no one rule fits all in biology, Says Associate Professor Vincent Williams of Curtin university or college in Perth.
The dozens of cell types that make up our body range in theme from small doughnut shaped red blood cells that are just 8 micrometres across, To long skinny nerve cells that may well grow to over one metre.
exactly how, We grow to our full adult size via a rise in the number not the size of our cells.
But some of our cells can change size which can be for healthy or not so healthy reasons.
Fat and muscle cells can get bigger and shrinkFat cells can get many times bigger whenever we put on weight, And muscle cells expand when we bulk up at the gym.
When we eat too much or do not get enough exercise, Our fat cells grow by storing more triglycerides and cholesterol in that person. When we get fit through diet or exercise, These fat cells dissove again.
Work out at the gym and muscle cells get bigger because you have to contain more machinery for producing energy especially mitochondria and glycogen fuel reserves.
instead, If you break a leg and end up lying in bed for six weeks then these same cells will shrink again.
And it's not just our skeletal muscle cells that change size when a woman is pregnant the smooth muscle cells of her uterus get larger to make sure the growing foetus is protected.
Cells change with each passing year and illnessThe cells of many organs change size and/or number through our life stages, As a result of bodily changes of ageing.
After menopause the cells of a woman's uterus shrink to one third as big as those of a pre menopausal woman.
But the prostate in ageing men enlarges because of an increase in the number of cells as hormone levels change.
an additional gland the thymus, mixed up in childhood immune response is big at birth but almost disappears completely by the age of 16 as the cell numbers dwindle.
Diseases or diseases that put an extra workload on our tissues and organs can cause cells to grow bigger in size. as an example, A person who has plaque in their blood vessels will have larger cardiac muscle cells for bigger pumping, giving them an enlarged heart.
And a person who loses the use of one kidney ends up with larger cells and more them in the other kidney, to compensate.
Many cells also get bigger in size as they
how to tell if a chinese girl likes you undergo repair following inflammation of the joints and infection.
And cancerous cells are usually much larger than their normal counterparts. This is because they're working hard dividing and proliferating uncontrollably.
