The fundamental contribution of James Maxwell Ross Cormack (1909–1975) in suggesting the term “apoptosis”

This study highlights the historical contribution of Professor James Cormack by providing a Greek term that describes the process of programmed cell death. In 1972 the ancient Greek word “apoptosis” first appeared in the scientific literature. This short manuscript will examine the actual meaning of the term and its historical and phylological background. The word “apoptosis” contains a variety of semantic nuances that are perfectly suited to describe such a complex set of biological events as programmed cell death.