What Is Cell Metabolism?

Cell metabolism is a general term for a series of ordered chemical reactions that take place in a cell to support life. These reaction processes enable organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their structure, and respond to the external environment. Metabolism is usually divided into two categories: catabolism can break down large molecules to obtain energy (such as cellular respiration); anabolic metabolism can use energy to synthesize various components in cells, such as proteins and nucleic acids. ^[1]