Old age
| Classification according to ICD-10 | |
|---|---|
| R54 | Senility: old age |
| ICD-10 online (WHO version 2019) | |
With old age , or (as in 1796 by Johann Christian Reil introduced term) marasmus senilis the degradation of physical functions with increasing age , respectively. This natural process of aging , to which all organs and tissues are subject, is also referred to in pathology as physiological old age atrophy . It is characterized by a reduction in organ and tissue mass and often by accompanying phenomena such as the deposition of lipofuscin in the tissue ( brown atrophy ). Old age weakness or atrophy is accompanied by functional limitations of the affected organ, such as memory disorders in atrophy of the brain . General weakness of the immune system and lack of movement can also be signs of old age. Various diseases, such as osteoporosis , which is characterized by atrophy of the cancellous bone of the bones , can also result from natural age atrophy. In osteoporosis, the fragility of the bones is increased.
The term is also used to encode causes of death by means of ICD codes under the umbrella term senility . The science of aging is gerontology , and biogerontology is part of it. The specialty of medicine that deals with the elderly is geriatrics .
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- Grundmann (ed.): Introduction to general pathology . 9th edition, pages 17-18. Urban and Fischer-Verlag, Munich 2000, ISBN 3-437-21191-9 .
- Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Urban & Schwarzenberg (Ed.): Roche Lexicon Medicine . 4th edition. Urban & Schwarzenberg 1998, ISBN 3-541-17114-6 .
- Dietrich von Engelhardt : Geriatrics. In: Werner E. Gerabek , Bernhard D. Haage, Gundolf Keil , Wolfgang Wegner (eds.): Enzyklopädie Medizingeschichte. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin and New York 2005, ISBN 3-11-015714-4 , pp. 478-481.
