Cell death, also known as apoptosis, is an important and regulated process in the body that occurs through two main pathways: intrinsic and extrinsic. The intrinsic pathway involves mitochondria and proteins from the Bcl-2 family, while the extrinsic pathway is activated by death receptors and ligands like Fas and FasL or TNF and TNFR. Apoptosis removes unwanted, damaged, or infected cells and regulates cell populations through caspase activation to promote healthy tissue development and function.