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Anatomy & Physiology vocabulary · Physiological Processes

Metabolism

Meaning in anatomy & physiology, with examples

/məˈtæbəlɪzəm/nounCore term

In anatomy & physiology, metabolism means: All the chemical reactions in the body's cells that break down food for energy and build new molecules. It includes catabolism (breaking down) and anabolism (building up).

In Turkish: metabolizma

How it is used

Used in physiology and biochemistry (glucose metabolism, drug metabolism in the liver) and in everyday talk about weight, where people say someone has a fast or slow metabolism. Metabolic rate measures how quickly energy is used. The verb is metabolize.

Example sentences

  1. Thyroid hormones increase the rate of metabolism in almost every tissue.

  2. The liver plays a central role in the metabolism of drugs and alcohol.

Common collocations

  • basal metabolic rate
  • glucose metabolism
  • fat metabolism
  • metabolic rate
  • metabolize
  • enzymeA protein that speeds up a specific chemical reaction in the body without being used up. Digestive enzymes, for example, break food down into molecules small enough to be absorbed.
  • homeostasisThe body's ability to keep its internal conditions, such as temperature, blood sugar and water balance, fairly stable even when the outside environment changes.
  • liverThe large organ in the upper right abdomen that processes nutrients, makes bile and many blood proteins, stores glycogen, and breaks down drugs, alcohol and toxins.
  • thyroid glandA butterfly-shaped endocrine gland at the front of the neck, below the larynx. It makes the thyroid hormones (T3 and T4), which control metabolic rate, and the hormone calcitonin.
  • mitochondrionA small structure inside the cell that uses oxygen to produce most of the cell's energy in the form of ATP. Cells that need a lot of energy, like muscle cells, have many of them.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Physiological Processes

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.