Dictionary
au•to•pha•gia
Pronunciation: (ô"tu-fā'ju, -jē-u), [key]—
n. Physiol.
1. controlled digestion of damaged organelles within a cell.
2. the maintenance of bodily nutrition by the metabolic breakdown of some bodily tissues.
Also,au•toph•a•gyPronunciation: (ô-tof'u-jē). [key]Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.