Metabolism

Definition: Metabolism is the total of all organic processes (or chemical changes) taking place in a cell or organism that produce the energy and basic materials that are necessary to sustain life. Cellular metabolism can be divided into two categories: anabolism which entails the construction of complex organic molecules from simpler precursors, and catabolism which involves the breakdown of complex substances into simpler molecules. The adjective of metabolism is metabolic.

Alternative definition:

Synonym: metabolic process

References: National Cancer Institute. National Cancer Institute Thesaurus, 2017. Documentation page available on http://nciterms.nci.nih.gov.

https://doi.org/10.1038/098389b0

Sánchez López de Nava A, Raja A. Physiology, Metabolism. (2022) Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing PMID: 31536296.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31536296/

Related terms: catabolism, anabolism