Programmed cell death (PCD; sometimes referred to as cellular suicide[1]) is the death of a cell as a result of events inside of a cell, such as apoptosis or autophagy.[2][3] PCD is carried out in a biological process, which usually confers advantage during an organism's lifecycle. For example, the differentiation of fingers and toes in a developing human embryo occurs because cells between the fingers apoptose; the result is that the digits are separate. PCD serves fundamental functions during both plant and animal tissue development.

Cell cycle analysis is a very common flow cytometry application. By using a DNA-specific stain, one can determine a DNA profile e.g. find percentage of the population in G0/G1, S, and G2/M. This information can be used to, for example, monitor the effect of an anticancer treatment.