Which tissues have poor regenerative capacity?

• A. Cardiac, skeletal, and neural
• B. Cardiac and neural only
• C. Skeletal muscle only
• D. All tissues regenerate well

Answer: (A)

Regenerative capacity varies by tissue: some tissues can replace damaged cells fairly well, while others heal mainly by scar formation. Cardiac muscle cells and neurons in the central nervous system have very limited ability to replace lost cells, so damage to heart tissue or CNS tissue tends to result in scar tissue rather than new functional cells. Skeletal muscle, on the other hand, has a robust regenerative process driven by satellite cells that activate, proliferate, and fuse to repair or rebuild muscle fibers after injury. This makes skeletal muscle capable of regeneration rather than poor regeneration.

So, tissues with poor regenerative capacity are cardiac and neural. Skeletal muscle does regenerate well, which is why options that include skeletal muscle among tissues with poor regenerative capacity aren’t accurate.