Absorption

(ub-SORP-shun) The process of taking nutrients from the digestive system into the blood so they can be used in the body.

The passing of a substance or force into the body of another substance.

Taking in of fluids or other substances through, or as if through, cells or tissues. The uptake of water or dissolved chemicals by a cell or an organism (as tree roots absorb dissolved nutrients in the soil). Should not be confused with adsorption.

The process in which incident radiant energy is retained by a substance by conversion to some other form of energy.

The process in which incident radiant energy is retained by a substance by conversion to some other form of energy.

In the transmission of electrical, electromagnetic, or acoustic signals, the conversion of the transmitted energy into another form, usually thermal. [After 2196] Note 1: Absorption is one cause of signal attenuation. Note 2: The conversion takes place as a result of interaction between the incident energy and the material medium, at the molecular or atomic level.