Muscle atrophy is best described as?

• A. Increased size of muscle fibers
• B. Increased number of muscle fibers
• C. Wasting away or decline of muscle tissue
• D. Excessive muscle growth due to training

Answer: (C)

Muscle atrophy means the muscle tissue is wasting away, shrinking in size and mass. This happens when muscles aren’t used enough or lose nerve input, such as with immobilization, aging, or nerve injury. With less activity, the body ups protein breakdown and reduces protein synthesis in muscle fibers, so the contractile proteins and other components get smaller, lowering strength and size.

So the description “wasting away or decline of muscle tissue” is the best fit. The other options describe the opposite processes—hypertrophy is an increase in size, while increasing the number of fibers (hyperplasia) or excessive growth from training isn’t what atrophy entails.