biological process

physical process, process - a sustained phenomenon or one marked by gradual changes through a series of states; "events now in process"; "the process of calcification begins later for boys than for girls"

adaption, adaptation, adjustment - the process of adapting to something (such as environmental conditions)

agglutination - a clumping of bacteria or red cells when held together by antibodies (agglutinins)

senescence, ageing, aging - the organic process of growing older and showing the effects of increasing age

anovulation - the absence of ovulation due to immaturity or post-maturity or pregnancy or oral contraceptive pills or dysfunction of the ovary

antisepsis, asepsis - the process of inhibiting the growth and multiplication of microorganisms

assimilation, absorption - the process of absorbing nutrients into the body after digestion

autoregulation - (physiology) processes that maintain a generally constant physiological state in a cell or organism

bacteriostasis - inhibition of the growth of bacteria

bloom, blooming - the organic process of bearing flowers; "you will stop all bloom if you let the flowers go to seed"

bodily function, bodily process, body process, activity - an organic process that takes place in the body; "respiratory activity"

carbon cycle - the organic circulation of carbon from the atmosphere into organisms and back again

catabolism, destructive metabolism, katabolism, dissimilation - breakdown in living organisms of more complex substances into simpler ones together with release of energy

cell division, cellular division - the process in reproduction and growth by which a cell divides to form daughter cells

crossing over, crossover - the interchange of sections between pairing homologous chromosomes during the prophase of meiosis

defoliation - the loss of foliage

deossification - the loss of the mineral content of bone tissue

digestion - the organic process by which food is converted into substances that can be absorbed into the body

eburnation - a change that occurs in degenerative joint disease in which bone is converted into a dense smooth substance resembling ivory

ecchymosis - the escape of blood from ruptured blood vessels into the surrounding tissue to form a purple or black-and-blue spot on the skin

effacement - shortening of the uterine cervix and thinning of its walls as it is dilated during labor

erythropoiesis - the process of producing red blood cells by the stem cells in the bone marrow

eutrophication - excessive nutrients in a lake or other body of water, usually caused by runoff of nutrients (animal waste, fertilizers, sewage) from the land, which causes a dense growth of plant life; the decomposition of the plants depletes the supply of oxygen, leading to the death of animal life; "he argued that the controlling factor in eutrophication is not nitrate but phosphate"

organic evolution, phylogenesis, phylogeny, evolution - (biology) the sequence of events involved in the evolutionary development of a species or taxonomic group of organisms

expression - (genetics) the process of expressing a gene

extravasation - the process of exuding or passing out of a vessel into surrounding tissues; said of blood or lymph or urine

gastrulation - the process in which a gastrula develops from a blastula by the inward migration of cells

glycogenesis - the formation in animals of glycogen from glucose

growing, growth, ontogenesis, ontogeny, maturation, development - (biology) the process of an individual organism growing organically; a purely biological unfolding of events involved in an organism changing gradually from a simple to a more complex level; "he proposed an indicator of osseous development in children"

haematogenesis, haematopoiesis, haemogenesis, haemopoiesis, hematogenesis, hematopoiesis, hemogenesis, hemopoiesis, sanguification - the formation of blood cells in the living body (especially in the bone marrow)

heredity - the biological process whereby genetic factors are transmitted from one generation to the next

humification - the process of the formation of humus from plant remains

epistasis, hypostasis - the suppression of a gene by the effect of an unrelated gene

implantation, nidation - (embryology) the organic process whereby a fertilized egg becomes implanted in the lining of the uterus of placental mammals

inhibition - (physiology) the process whereby nerves can retard or prevent the functioning of an organ or part; "the inhibition of the heart by the vagus nerve"

infolding, intussusception, invagination, introversion - the folding in of an outer layer so as to form a pocket in the surface; "the invagination of the blastula"