Name: Jose M. G.
Status: Student
Age: 18
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: January 2004
Question:
Do all cells in the body have the same growth
rate and can you give me an example?
Replies:
No they don't. For example-the cells on the inside of your mouth are constantly
being rubbed away when you eat or chew or even talk. So the cell cycle for these
cells is quite fast. Also, the cells in your stomach actually are eaten away by
the acid there. Those cells need to be replaced constantly. On the other hand,
the bone cells in your collar bone or in your skull are not worn away often if at
all and the cell cycle for those is very long. Some cells are never replaced once
they are made, such as nerve tissue. That is why if your spinal cord is severed you
are paralyzed forever.
vanhoeck
It depends on what you mean by growth rate. The body typically grows by cell
multiplication and not so much by any one set of cells increasing in their
individual sizes (with some exception...adipocytes) If you mean length of
cell cycle G1--> M then certainly not. Many bone marrow precursors to
circulating blood cells like erythrocytes and granulocytes move through cell
cycle fairly rapidly in 18-24 hours. Many nerve cells are in extended G1
called G0 and are not dividing at all.
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