Which process is characterized by damage, poisons, starvation, or hypoxia leading to cell death?

The process characterized by damage, poisons, starvation, or hypoxia leading to cell death is necrosis. Necrosis occurs when cells experience severe damage due to environmental factors such as toxins, lack of nutrients, or insufficient oxygen. This form of cell death is typically uncontrolled and results in the release of cellular contents into the surrounding tissue, often causing inflammation and further damage to nearby cells.

In contrast, apoptosis is a form of programmed cell death that is usually a controlled and regulated process, serving to eliminate damaged or unneeded cells without causing an inflammatory response. Mitotic catastrophe refers to a failure of cell division that results in cell death, often as a consequence of genotoxic stress, and cell cycle arrest is a mechanism that prevents cells from progressing through the cell cycle in response to damage, allowing for repair rather than immediate death. These processes differ fundamentally from necrosis in their triggers, mechanisms, and consequences.