CHAPTER LIII 



SOME GENERAL BIOLOGIC PROCESSES 



Liberate, to set free. 

 Accomplish, bring about. 

 Petrified, turned to stone. 



Vocabulary 



Osmosis and Life. The life of any organism depends, first 

 upon getting food into its tissues, and second upon releasing the 

 energy from the food after it has assimilated it. These food- 

 obtaining processes include photosynthesis, digestion, absorption, 

 and assimilation. All these depend upon osmosis for their accom- 

 plishment. 



After the food is available in the body, its energy must be re- 

 leased. This requires oxidation and again necessitates osmosis 

 for the passage of oxygen through the tissues. Oxidation liberates 

 the energy in the food and at the same time produces waste which 

 must be excreted. Here again osmosis is the essential process. 



The tables which follow attempt to show this relation of os- 

 mosis to the vital processes of all plants and animals. 



ESSENTIALS FOR OSMOSIS 



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