Degradation
Degradation (Medicine)
Degradation (pronunciation: /dɪˌɡreɪˈdeɪʃ(ə)n/) in the context of medicine refers to the process by which a substance is broken down into smaller components within the body. This process is essential for the elimination of various substances, including drugs and toxins, from the body.
Etymology
The term 'degradation' originates from the Latin word 'degradare', which means 'to reduce to a lower rank'. In the medical context, it refers to the reduction of complex substances into simpler ones.
Related Terms
- Metabolism: The set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main purposes of metabolism are: the conversion of food to energy to run cellular processes; the conversion of food/fuel to building blocks for proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and some carbohydrates; and the elimination of nitrogenous wastes.
- Catabolism: The set of metabolic pathways that breaks down molecules into smaller units to release energy.
- Anabolism: The set of metabolic pathways that construct molecules from smaller units. These reactions require energy.
- Enzyme: A protein that acts as a biological catalyst. Enzymes accelerate, or catalyze, chemical reactions.
- Proteolysis: The breakdown of proteins into smaller polypeptides or amino acids.
- Hydrolysis: A chemical reaction in which water is used to break down a compound.
- Oxidation: A type of chemical reaction that involves the loss of electrons or an increase in oxidation state.
- Reduction: A type of chemical reaction that involves the gain of electrons or a decrease in oxidation state.
See Also
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Degradation
- Wikipedia's article - Degradation
This WikiMD article is a stub. You can help make it a full article.
Languages: - East Asian
中文,
日本,
한국어,
South Asian
हिन्दी,
Urdu,
বাংলা,
తెలుగు,
தமிழ்,
ಕನ್ನಡ,
Southeast Asian
Indonesian,
Vietnamese,
Thai,
မြန်မာဘာသာ,
European
español,
Deutsch,
français,
русский,
português do Brasil,
Italian,
polski