Catabolism

Catabolism is the set of metabolic pathways that breaks down molecules into smaller units that are either oxidized to release energy or used in other anabolic reactions. Catabolism breaks down large molecules into smaller units. Catabolism is the breaking-down aspect of metabolism, whereas anabolism is the building-up aspect.

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catabolism

Wikidata: Q21130714