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glycolysis

(glī käl′i sis)

noun

a complex series of cellular biochemical reactions, not requiring oxygen, that splits glucose, glycogen, or other carbohydrates into pyruvic, or lactic, acid while storing energy in ATP molecules

Origin: glyco- + -lysis

Related Forms:

glycolytic adjective

See glycolysis in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

An ATP-generating metabolic process that occurs in nearly all living cells in which glucose is converted in a series of steps to pyruvic acid.
The metabolic breakdown of glucose and other sugars that releases energy in the form of ATP.

Related Forms: