Necrosis

Necrosis (in Greek Νεκρός = "dead") is the name given to premature or unnatural death of cells and living tissue. Necrosis is caused by external factors, such as infection, toxins, or trauma. This is in contrast to apoptosis, which is a naturally occurring cause of cellular death. While apoptosis often provides beneficial effects to the cell's host organism, necrosis is almost always detrimental, and can be fatal.