[Contribution to problems of the adaptation concept in pathology using the heart as an example (author's transl)]

The paper represents a contribution to the problems associated with the adaptation concept used in biology and medicine for which there does not yet exist an exact and generally accepted definition. Several aspects of the adaptation concept as it is applied in pathology (adaptation and disease, adaptation on the cellular level, adaptation and and optimation, systemic and local adaptation) are illustrated by means of the adaption of the heart to physiological and pathological condition, with particular attention being paid to questions of cellular adaptation. Finally, it is emphasized that knowledge of the structural and functional changes underlying the adaptation of the organism is of great importance to the prevention of diseases.