1 : any of various composite plants (genus Chrysanthemum) including weeds, ornamentals grown for their brightly colored often double flower heads, and others important as sources of medicinals and insecticides. 2 : a flower head of an ornamental chrysanthemum.
Elastin is a highly elastic protein in connective tissue and allows many tissues in the body to resume their shape after stretching or contracting. Elastin helps skin to return to its original position when it is poked or pinched.
In its absence (such as in alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency), neutrophil elastase is free to break down elastin, degrading the elasticity of the lungs (which results in respiratory complications such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in adults) and of the liver (which results in cirrhosis in adults or children).