metabolism

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 a living cell or organism.

In theology, the consensus of views of some of the early fathers in regard to the eucharist, favoring an objective union of the sensible with the supersensible, or the real with the symbolical presence.

In poetry, a change from one meter into another.

In entomology, metamorphosis; transformation; metaboly; transition from larva to pupa, or from pupa to imago.

In biology: The sum of the chemical changes within the body, or within any single cell of the body, by which the protoplasm is either renewed or changed to perform special functions, or else disorganized and prepared for excretion.

Especially, retrograde metamorphosis; catabolism.

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 enzymes. Hence, metabolism may be either constructive (anabolism), or destructive (catabolism).

The series of chemical changes which take place in an organism, by means of which food is manufactured and utilized and waste materials are eliminated.

The complete set of chemical reactions that occur in living cells.