Sloughing may refer to the act of shedding or casting off dead tissue, such as cells of the endometrium, shed during menstruation. It may also refer to the process where necrotic surface epithelial cells are discarded from the small intestinal mucosa following various infections which may occur within both monogastrics or ruminants. Sloughing also occurs in root growth, where cells from the root cap are shed to the soil where they are biologically processed by microorganisms. Also, when a root undergoes secondary growth (transition from a primary root to a "woody" root), the cortex and epidermis become isolated from the rest of the root and are eventually sloughed.
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