What does hyperplasia refer to?

What does hyperplasia refer to?

• A. Increase in number of cells
• B. Increase in size of cells
• C. Increase in number of tissues
• D. Decrease in number of cells

Answer: (A)

Hyperplasia is growth driven by an increase in the number of cells in a tissue. This happens when cells divide more, under influences like growth factors or hormones, so the tissue becomes larger because there are more cells rather than bigger cells. It’s different from hypertrophy, where the existing cells get larger but the cell count doesn’t rise. For context, you can see hyperplasia in hormonal situations (such as the uterus thickening in response to estrogen) or in liver regeneration after injury. The other ideas—more cells getting bigger, more tissue types appearing, or fewer cells—don’t describe hyperplasia.

Hyperplasia is growth driven by an increase in the number of cells in a tissue. This happens when cells divide more, under influences like growth factors or hormones, so the tissue becomes larger because there are more cells rather than bigger cells. It’s different from hypertrophy, where the existing cells get larger but the cell count doesn’t rise. For context, you can see hyperplasia in hormonal situations (such as the uterus thickening in response to estrogen) or in liver regeneration after injury. The other ideas—more cells getting bigger, more tissue types appearing, or fewer cells—don’t describe hyperplasia.