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

Me*tab"o*lism\, n. (Physiol.) The act or process, by which living tissues or cells take up and convert into their own proper substance the nutritive material brought to them by the blood, or by which they transform their cell protoplasm into simpler substances, which are fitted either for excretion or for some special purpose, as in the manufacture of the digestive ferments. Hence, metabolism may be either constructive (anabolism), or destructive (katabolism).

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.

metabolism   (mĭ-tāb'ə-lĭz'əm)  Pronunciation Key  The chemical processes by which cells produce the substances and energy needed to sustain life. As part of metabolism, organic compounds are broken down to provide heat and energy in the process called catabolism. Simpler molecules are also used to build more complex compounds like proteins for growth and repair of tissues as part of anabolism. Many metabolic processes are brought about by the action of enzymes. The overall speed at which an organism carries out its metabolic processes is termed its metabolic rate (or, when the organism is at rest, its basal metabolic rate). Birds, for example, have a high metabolic rate, since they are warm-blooded, and their usual method of locomotion, flight, requires large amounts of energy. Accordingly, birds usually need large amounts of high-quality, energy-rich foods such as seeds or meat, which they must eat frequently. See more at cellular respiration. metabolic adjective (mět'ə-bŏl'ĭk)