Natural Phenomenon or Process
photosynthesis Audio
pho·to·syn·the·sis [ foh-tuh-sin-thuh-sis ]
Subclass of:
Metabolic Networks and Pathways; Plant Physiological Phenomena; Carbohydrate Metabolism; Phototrophic Processes
Definitions related to photosynthesis:
  • Energetic capture of visible light by certain plants and microorganisms, resulting in reduction of CO2 to carbohydrates and oxidation of water to O2; the biospheric reverse reaction of CELLULAR RESPIRATION.
    CRISP Thesaurus
    National Institutes of Health, 2006
  • The process through which light energy, water, and carbon dioxide are converted to carbohydrate and oxygen in the presence of chlorophyll. Occurs in plants, algae, cyanobacteria and lichens. (BioTech Life Science Dictionary)
    NCI
    U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
  • The synthesis by organisms of organic chemical compounds, especially carbohydrates, from carbon dioxide using energy obtained from light rather than from the oxidation of chemical compounds. Photosynthesis comprises two separate processes: the light reactions and the dark reactions. In higher plants; GREEN ALGAE; and CYANOBACTERIA; NADPH and ATP formed by the light reactions drive the dark reactions which result in the fixation of carbon dioxide. (from Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 2001)
    NLM Medical Subject Headings
    U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2025
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