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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Metabolism \Me*tab"o*lism\, noun (Physiol.)
1. 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}).
2. (Biol.) 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. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
metabolism
noun
1: the marked and rapid transformation of a larva into an adult that occurs in some animals [syn: {metamorphosis}]
2: the organic processes (in a cell or organism) that are necessary for life [syn: {metabolic process}, {metastasis}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
32 Moby Thesaurus words for "metabolism": assimilation, avatar, basal metabolism, catabolism, catalysis, consubstantiation, displacement, heterotopia, metagenesis, metamorphism, metamorphosis, metastasis, metathesis, metempsychosis, mutant, mutated form, mutation, permutation, reincarnation, sport, transanimation, transfiguration, transfigurement, transformation, transformism, translation, translocation, transmigration, transmogrification, transmutation, transposition, transubstantiation
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Definitions retrieved from local copies of the freely distributed DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. - KM |