Growth

Starting with an individual cell, growth of a multicellular organism can be divided into three phases:
Cell division an increase in cell number as a result of mitosis and cell division;
Cell enlargement an irreversible increase in cell size as a result of the uptake of water or the synthesis of living
material;
Cell differentiation the specialisation of cells; in its broad sense, growth also includes this phase of cell
development.
Growth in an organism consists of a permanent and more or less irreversible increase in size, commonly accompanied by
an increase in solid matter, dry mass and amount of cytoplasm.
One acceptable definition of growth is an irreversible increase in dry mass of living material.
Methods of measuring growth
There are a variety of parameters which can be measured: length, area, volume and mass. In plants, growth curves for
roots, stems, internodes and leaves are often required, and length and area are the parameters commonly chosen. In the
case of growth in animals and entire plants, length and mass are commonly measured parameters. In humans, for example,
changes in standing height and body mass are frequently used indicators of growth.
Fresh mass v. dry mass
Measurements of the fresh mass of an organism are relatively easily and quickly carried out. The organism is not injured,
and elaborate preparation of the samples may be unnecessary. Fresh mass measurements permit repeated measurements
on the same organism or preferably, a large group of organisms in order to rule out minor individual differences.
The problem with fresh mass measurements is the likelihood of significant variations in water content. Water
makes up 70-90% of the fresh mass of living organisms, and so measurements of fresh mass may give inconsistent
readings due to fluctuations in water content.
Dry mass measurements of organisms determine the masses obtained after all water has been removed by drying.
Dry mass values, collected over a period of growth, provide a more accurate estimate of growth than fresh mass
measurements.
Dry mass measurement, however, requires the destruction of the sample of organism in the process. Consequently,
a large population of individuals is needed, all of the same age and of approximately the same size. Measurements are
made on samples drawn from the population in order to rule out the effects of individual differences. The dry mass of the
batch is obtained by killing the organisms and heating the tissues to 110 oC in an oven to drive off water. The sample is
then allowed to cool in a desiccator, weighed and then repeatedly heated and cooled, and the mass measured until a
constant dry mass is obtained.