Anabolisms

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A metabolic process that promotes growth and building up of tissues and cells in an organism
2. Creating complex molecules from simpler ones for energy storage or cellular structure
3. The physiological processes involved in synthesizing biomolecules essential for growth and maintenance of bodily functions

Etymology: "Anabolism" is a word built from Ancient Greek pieces: "ana-" meaning "up" and "bállō," meaning "I throw," with the suffix "-ism" added at the end. Put together, the literal sense is something like "throwing up," which tells you little about what the word now means, and the chain of meaning is a useful one to follow. The word was formed in analogy with "metabolism," the older term for the body's chemical processes in general. Where "metabolism" covers breaking down and building up, "anabolism" takes only the building-up half, the constructive processes by which cells assemble larger molecules from smaller ones. Its coinage followed the pattern of the earlier word, so a reader who knows "metabolism" can see the same logic at work. The plural "anabolisms" is simply the form used when speaking of several distinct building processes, such as different anabolic pathways in various tissues.