Hypertext Webster Gateway: "katabolism"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Katabolism \Ka*tab"o*lism\, n. [Gr. ? down + ? to throw.]
(Physiol.)
Destructive or downward metabolism; regressive metamorphism;
-- opposed to {anabolism}. See {Disassimilation}.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
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}).
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
katabolism
n : breakdown of more complex substances into simpler ones with
release of energy [syn: {catabolism}, {dissimilation}, {destructive
metabolism}] [ant: {anabolism}]
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