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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 (gcide)

Metabolism \Me*tab"o*lism\, n. (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}).
[1913 Webster]

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.]


Anabolism \A*nab"o*lism\, n. (Physiol.)
The constructive metabolism of the body, as distinguished
from {catabolism}.
[1913 Webster]