Apoptosis: correlation of cytological changes with biochemical markers in hormone-dependent tissues

The term apoptosis, also known as programmed cell death (PCD), is used in contrast to necrotic cell death and occurs in various tissues in many different circumstances. In spite of its rather well-defined morphological features, biochemical or physiological characteristics of apoptosis are widely divergent, depending on the cellular system and/or methods in use. Here, we have outlined the current understanding of apoptosis, strictly with regard to its characteristic morphological features, discussing the correlation between morphological changes and biochemical markers.