Find all of your laboratory and workplace safety supplies at Safety Emporium!

Asymptomatic

Glossary Index

ATSDR

MSDS Topics	Free Sites	FAQ's	Regulations	Glossary	Software	Suppliers
	Books	Forum	Poll	Fun stuff	Quiz	Store
Understand your MSDS with the MS-Demystifier				Search ALL our MSDS info

Your employees can stay informed and comply with OSHA regulations with SDS information stations and compliance products from Safety Emporium.

Definition

Atrophy is a wasting or decrease in size of a bodily organ, tissue, or part owing to disease, injury, or lack of use.

You may have heard this term used in reference to accident or paralysis victims: "his muscles atrophied because of non-use".

SDS Relevance

This term normally appears in Section 11 (toxicological information) of a Safety Data Sheet as a chronic health effect of exposure to the substance.

Exposure to certain chemicals can cause internal organs to degrade, weaken and decrease in size, particularly with chronic (long-term) exposure. For example, industrial solvents have been known to cause brain atrophy. While muscles can be rehabilitated through exercise, it is fairly tough to give your kidneys, liver or brain a strength-building workout!

Prevent back spasms and other workplace injuries with ergonomic signs like this one from Safety Emporium.

Further Reading

• Occupational Exposure to Solvents: Neuropsychiatric and Imaging Features from J Neuropsychiatry 2015, 27(1), 1-6.
• Organic brain damage and occupational solvent exposure from Brit J Ind Medicine 1992, 49, 776-781.
• Neurotoxicity of solvent mixtures in spray painters from Int Arch Occup Eng Health 1992, 64(5), 361-372.
• Cerebral Atrophy Information Page at the NIH's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
• Cerebral Atrophy at Baptist Health.
• Muscle Atrophy, an article in the MedLinePlus Encylcopedia at the National Institutes of Health.
• Muscle Atrophy at the Cleveland Clinic.
• What Causes Muscle Wasting? at Healthline.
• What to know about muscle atrophy at MedicalNewsToday.
• What Is Atrophic Kidney and How Is It Treated? at Healthline.com.

See also: chronic, myalgia, neurotoxin.

Additional definitions from Google and OneLook.

Entry last updated: Saturday, March 12, 2022. This page is copyright 2000-2024 by ILPI. Unauthorized duplication or posting on other web sites is expressly prohibited. Send suggestions, comments, and new entry desires (include the URL if applicable) to us by email.

Disclaimer: The information contained herein is believed to be true and accurate, however ILPI makes no guarantees concerning the veracity of any statement. Use of any information on this page is at the reader's own risk. ILPI strongly encourages the reader to consult the appropriate local, state and federal agencies concerning the matters discussed herein.