Cascade
Cascade (medical term)
Cascade (pronounced: /kəˈskeɪd/) is a term used in various fields of medicine to describe a series of events or processes that occur in a sequential manner, leading to a final result or outcome.
Etymology
The term 'cascade' originates from the Italian 'cascata', which means 'waterfall'. This is a metaphorical representation of how one event triggers another in a sequential manner, similar to how water flows over a waterfall.
In Medicine
In medicine, a cascade often refers to a series of biochemical reactions that occur in a sequential manner, where the product of one reaction triggers the next. This is commonly seen in the blood clotting process, where a cascade of reactions leads to the formation of a blood clot.
Another example is the complement system, a part of the immune system where a cascade of reactions leads to the destruction of foreign cells.
Related Terms
- Cascade effect: A chain reaction that occurs in a complex system where the interactions are both numerous and subtly interconnected.
- Cascading failure: A failure in a system of interconnected parts, where the failure of a part can trigger the failure of successive parts.
- Signal transduction: The process by which a chemical or physical signal is transmitted through a cell as a series of molecular events, most commonly protein phosphorylation catalyzed by protein kinases, which ultimately results in a cellular response.
See Also
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Cascade
- Wikipedia's article - Cascade
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