Open AccessAgeing and its implications
Author(s) -
P Jayanthi,
Elizabeth Joshua,
K Ranganathan
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of oral and maxillofacial pathology/journal of oral and maxillofacial pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.455
H-Index - 25
eISSN - 1998-393X
pISSN - 0973-029X
DOI - 10.4103/0973-029x.72500
Subject(s) - longevity , ageing , life span , evolutionary biology , biology , phenotype , gerontology , genetics , medicine , gene
Ageing processes are defined as those that increase the susceptibility of individuals, as they grow older, to the factors that eventually lead to death. It is a complex multi-factorial process, where several factors may interact simultaneously and may operate at many levels of functional organization. The heterogeneity of ageing phenotype among individuals of the same species and differences in longevity among species are due to the contribution of both genetic and environmental factors in shaping the life span. The various theories of ageing and their proposed roles are discussed in this review.