Metabolism

me·tab·o·lism   (mĭ-tāb'ə-lĭz'əm)    n.   The chemical processes occurring within a living cell or organism that are necessary for the maintenance of life. In metabolism some substances are broken down to yield energy for vital processes while other substances, necessary for life, are synthesized. The processing of a specific substance within the living body: water metabolism; iodine metabolism. [From Greek metabolē, change, from metaballein, to change : meta-, meta- + ballein, to throw; see gwelə- in Indo-European roots.]

metabolism [(muh-tab-uh-liz-uhm)]

The total of the chemical reactions that maintain the life of a living thing.

Note: In humans, metabolism is related to the intake and use of food; persons with a high metabolism can eat more without gaining weight.

metabolism 

Main Entry: me·tab·o·lism
Pronunciation: m&-'tab-&-"liz-&m
Function: noun
1 a : the sum of the processes in thebuildup and destruction of protoplasm; specifically : the chemical changes in living cells by which energy is provided for vital processes and activities and new material is assimilatedmetabolism —Bulletin of the University of Kentucky> —see ANABOLISM, CATABOLISM b : the sum of the processes by which a particular substance ishandled (as by assimilation and incorporation or by detoxification and excretion) in the living body metabolism of iodine in the thyroid>
2 : METAMORPHOSIS 2 —usually used in combination metabolism>

metabolism me·tab·o·lism (mĭ-tāb'ə-lĭz'əm)
n.

1. The complex of physical and chemical processes occurring within a living cell or organism that are necessary for the maintenance of life. In metabolism some substances are broken down to yield energy for vital processes while other substances, necessary for life, are synthesized.

2. The functioning of a specific substance, such as water, within the living body.