autophagia

[ aw-tuh-fey-juh, -jee-uh ]

noun

, Physiology.

1. controlled digestion of damaged organelles within a cell.
2. the maintenance of bodily nutrition by the metabolic breakdown of some bodily tissues.

Other Words From

• au·to·phag·ic [aw-t, uh, -, faj, -ik], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of autophagia¹

auto- ¹ + -phagia