Hypertext Webster Gateway: "metabolism"
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 Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Metabolism \Me*tab"o*lism\, n. (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.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
metabolism
n 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}]
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