In
cellular pathology,
steatosis (also called
fatty change,
fatty degeneration or
adipose degeneration) is the process describing the abnormal retention of
lipids within a cell. It reflects an impairment of the normal processes of
synthesis and elimination of
triglyceride fat. Excess lipid accumulates in
vesicles that displace the
cytoplasm. When the vesicles are large enough to distort the
nucleus, the condition is known as
macrovesicular steatosis; otherwise, the condition is known as
microvesicular steatosis. While not particularly detrimental to the cell in mild cases, large accumulations can disrupt cell constituents, and in severe cases the cell may even burst.