Surgery, Chung-Ang Unviersity College of Medicine, Yong-San Hospital, Seoul, Korea Apoptosis is considered to be a programmed and controlled mode of cell death, whereas necrosis has long been described as uncontrolled and accidental cell death resulting from extremely harsh conditions. In the following review, we will discuss the features and physiological meanings as well as recent advances in the elucidation of the signaling pathways of both apoptotic cell death and programmed necrotic cell death.