**3. Recognition of dying cells**

In early studies, cell shrinkage prior to cell death was associated with a process of non-inflammatory cell clearance, while inflammatory response is associated with cell swelling prior to death [12–14] (**Figure 1**). These morphologies were associated with apoptosis and necrosis processes. In recent decades, more molecularly diverse controlled cell death programs have been identified [2], with each type having a major impact on the biological consequences of cell death. Both apoptotic and nonapoptotic dying cells demonstrate and release molecular signals in order to signal phagocytes and direct subsequent phagocytic and immune responses.
