The dissolution or breaking down of chromatin or the destruction of color in cells, often occurring as a sign of cell damage or death.
From Greek 'chroma' (color) + 'lysis' (loosening, breaking down). A histological term developed in the 19th century to describe cellular changes visible under microscopes.
Chromatolysis was one of the first ways scientists could actually 'see' that a nerve cell was dying before any other major changes happened—it's like watching a single crack in a cell that signals the beginning of failure.
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