Lexic.us

Definition of Photosynthesis

1. Noun. Synthesis of compounds with the aid of radiant energy (especially in plants).

Definition of Photosynthesis

1. n. The process of constructive metabolism by which carbohydrates are formed from water vapor and the carbon dioxide of the air in the chlorophyll-containing tissues of plants exposed to the action of light. It was formerly called assimilation, but this is now commonly used as in animal physiology. The details of the process are not yet clearly known. Baeyer's theory is that the carbon dioxide is reduced to carbon monoxide, which, uniting with the hydrogen of the water in the cell, produces formaldehyde, the latter forming various sugars through polymerization. Vines suggests that the carbohydrates are secretion products of the chloroplasts, derived from decomposition of previously formed proteids. The food substances are usually quickly translocated, those that accumulate being changed to starch, which appears in the cells almost simultaneously with the sugars. The chloroplasts perform photosynthesis only in light and within a certain range of temperature, varying according to climate. This is the only way in which a plant is able to organize carbohydrates. All plants without a chlorophyll apparatus, as the fungi, must be parasitic or saprophytic.

Definition of Photosynthesis

1. [n -THESES]

Medical Definition of Photosynthesis

1. Process by which green plants, algae and some bacteria absorb light energy and use it to synthesise organic compounds (initially carbohydrates). In green plants, occurs in chloroplasts, that contain the photosynthetic pigments. Occurs by slightly different processes in C3 and C4 plants. This entry appears with permission from the Dictionary of Cell and Molecular Biology (11 Mar 2008)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Photosynthesis

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