Tumours

When growth is not properly regulated, anomalies and tumours may result. If the increase in the number of liver cells is abnormal, for example, tumours of the liver, or hepatomas, may result. In fact, one feature of malignant tumours, or cancers, is the absence of the usual growth patterns and rates. The cells of malignant tumours, in addition to having abnormal growth rates, have altered adhesive properties, which enable them to detach easily from the tumour; in this way the cells may spread to other parts of the body (metastasize) and grow in unusual locations. It is the growth of tumours in places other than the organ of origin that usually causes the death of an organism. Tumours may vary widely in their growth rates. They may grow very rapidly or so slowly that the rate approaches that of normal cell division in adult tissues. Tumours are not only characterized by an increase in the rate of cell division but also by abnormal patterns of growth. The new cells formed in the tumour are not organized and incorporated into the structure of the organ and may form large nodules. These abnormal growths may present no medical problems (e.g., moles) or may cause disastrous effects, as is the case of the pressure on the brain caused by a tumorous mass of the meningeal covering of the brain.

Regeneration

Not all abnormal growths are tumours. If a tree is partially burned, cells below the bark produce a new covering for the exposed vascular strands. Growth may not be normal, and an obvious scar or growth of the new bark is apparent. Similarly, if the skin of a mammal is severely injured, the repair, although abnormal and imperfect, causes the organism no physiological difficulty. Many organisms possess the ability to regrow, or regenerate, with varying degrees of perfection, parts of the body that are lost or injured. Salamanders possess remarkable powers of regeneration, being able to form new eyes or a new limb if the original is lost. Lizards can regenerate a new tail; even humans can regenerate parts of the liver. The reasons for the differences in regenerative powers in different animals remain a fascinating mystery of great practical importance. When regeneration does occur, some specialized cells usually lose their specialized characteristics and enter a period of an increased rate of cell division; subsequently, the new cells respecialize into the tissues of the original body part. Plants whose tops are lost as in pruning can also sometimes form new meristematic centres from dormant tissues and produce new shoots.

Compensatory growth

Many organs of animals occur in pairs, and if one is lost the remaining member increases in size, as if responding to the demands of increased use. If one of the two kidneys of a human is removed, for example, the other increases in size. This is called a compensatory reaction and may occur either by some increase in cell size (hypertrophy), by an increase in the rate of cell division (hyperplasia), or both. Although an increase in cell number is primarily responsible for the compensatory reaction of the kidney, the number of individual filtration units (glomeruli) does not increase. Hence, cell division increases the size of glomeruli but not the total number. Some of the most striking examples of increases in cell size in animals take place during stimulation of endocrine organs, which secrete regulatory substances called hormones; when the thyroid gland is stimulated, for example, the individual cells of the gland may increase dramatically in size.

Temperature

The environment in which an organism lives plays an important role in modifying the rate and extent of growth. Environmental factors may be either physical (e.g., temperature, radiant energy, and atmospheric pressure) or chemical. Organisms and the cells of which they are composed are extremely sensitive to temperature changes; as the temperature decreases, the biochemical reactions necessary for life occur more slowly. A lowering of the temperature by 10° C (18° F) slows metabolism at least twofold and often more.

The width of trees increases partly by cell division and enlargement of secondary meristematic tissue below the bark. During the cold of winter, cell division and enlargement may cease completely; but during the spring renewed growth occurs. This intermittent growth is influenced by temperature, light, and water. The amount of growth may decrease considerably if the spring is cold, if day length is changed by obstructions blocking the sunlight, or if a drought occurs. In fact, the width of the growth rings visible on the surface of the cut tree trunk provides a partial history of climatic conditions, the spacing of the growth rings of different size having been correlated with known periods of drought and cold to provide reliable archaeological dating of various structures, as in the timbers used in Indian pueblos in the southwestern United States.

Temperature also affects both warm- and cold-blooded animals. Many warm-blooded (e.g., bears) and cold-blooded (e.g., frogs) vertebrates cease growing during the cold winter and simply enter an inactive or dormant state, which is characterized by a very low rate of metabolism. In animals that do not become dormant, increased demands for food consumption occur during cold periods to provide energy to maintain body temperature; this utilization of food energy may limit the energy available for size increase if food is in short supply.

Pressure

Because atmospheric pressure is relatively constant except in the mountains, it probably is of little importance in growth regulation. Increases in pressure in the ocean’s depths may be significant, however, since it is known that increases in hydrostatic pressure interfere with cell division. Tissues of deep-sea fishes must have become adapted to such pressure effects, which have been little studied thus far. Movements of the terrestrial atmosphere—winds—may affect growth patterns in trees and shrubs, as is evident in the exotic shapes of certain conifers that grow along coastlines exposed to strong prevailing winds.