Autophagy vs. Phagocytosis

Autophagynoun

(biology) The process of self-digestion by a cell through the action of enzymes originating within the same cell. Often a defensive and/or self-preservation measure.

Autophagynoun

(biology) A type of programmed cell death accomplished through self-digestion.

Autophagynoun

(rare) Self-consumption; the act of eating oneself.

Autophagynoun

The feeding of the body upon itself, as in fasting; nutrition by consumption of one's own tissues.

Autophagy

Autophagy (or autophagocytosis) (from the Ancient Greek αὐτόφαγος autóphagos, meaning and κύτος kýtos, meaning ) is the natural, conserved degradation lysosome-dependent regulated mechanism of the cell that removes unnecessary or dysfunctional components. It allows the orderly degradation and recycling of cellular components.

Phagocytosisnoun

A form of endocytosis in which a cell incorporates a particle by extending pseudopodia and drawing the particle into a vacuole of its cytoplasm.

Phagocytosisnoun

process in which phagocytes engulf and digest microorganisms and cellular debris; an important defense against infection

Phagocytosis

Phagocytosis (from Ancient Greek φαγεῖν (phagein) 'to eat', and κύτος, (kytos) 'cell') is the process by which a cell uses its plasma membrane to engulf a large particle (≥ 0.5 μm), giving rise to an internal compartment called the phagosome. It is one type of endocytosis.