Metabolism (from
metabole, "change") is the set of
life-sustaining
chemical transformations within the
cells of living
organisms. These
enzyme-catalyzed reactions allow organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, and respond to their environments. The word metabolism can also refer to all chemical reactions that occur in living organisms, including
digestion and the transport of substances into and between different cells, in which case the set of reactions within the cells is called
intermediary metabolism or
intermediate metabolism.