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Definition

noun

A series of chemical reactions catalyzed by enzymes and are connected by their intermediates, i.e. the reactants of one reaction are the products of the previous one, and so on.

Supplement

This includes processes for cell growth, reproduction, response to environment, survival mechanisms, sustenance, and maintenance of cell structure and integrity. It is made up of two categories: catabolism and anabolism.

Word origin: metabolic < metabolism: from Greek metabolē, change, from metaballein, to change : meta-, meta- + ballein, to throw.

Related terms: intermediary metabolism, secondary metabolism, fat metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, energy metabolism, inborn error of metabolism, respiratory metabolism, oxidative metabolism, destructive metabolism, constructive metabolism.

Synonym: metabolic pathway.