"The sum of all the chemical and physical changes that take place within the body and enable its continued growth and functioning"
Further to this, metabolism can be defined in two parts:
Anabolism - the building up of complex substances from simple ones to form materials for tissues and organs.
...and...
Catabolism - the breaking down of complex constituents of the body which liberates energy and raw materials required for other processes (anabolism) or wastes to be excreted.
As the image shows, these definitions provide a much simplified picture of a cycle of creation and destruction running continuously throughout the body. Metabolic disturbance may be the cause of a wide range of illnesses and is frequently what herbal medicine attempts to address.
image: Zephyris
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