Organizam

Organizam is the term used in several languages to denote a living system, typically equivalent to the English word organism. An organizam is a living entity that carries out the biological processes of growth, metabolism, response to stimuli, and reproduction, and that evolves over generations. Organisms maintain internal stability through homeostasis and rely on energy and matter obtained from their surroundings.

Organisms vary from unicellular forms, consisting of a single cell, to multicellular beings with specialized cells that form tissues and organs. Unicellular organizams include many bacteria and archaea, as well as numerous protists. Multicellular organizams such as plants, animals, and fungi are composed of cells organized into tissues, organs, and organ systems that work together to sustain life.

Life processes are powered by metabolism, the set of chemical reactions that convert energy and matter for growth and maintenance. Most organizams obtain energy through respiration or photosynthesis and process nutrients by digestion, transport, and excretion. They integrate signals from their environment and regulate their internal state to remain functional.

Organizams reproduce to transmit genetic information to offspring. Heredity is based on genetic material, commonly DNA, with variation arising through mutation and recombination, which fuels evolution by natural selection. The diversity of organizams reflects adaptation to a wide range of environments and ecological roles.

From a classification perspective, life is organized into domains Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya, with further subdivisions into kingdoms and lineages. Viruses are often not considered organizams because they lack cellular structure and cannot maintain metabolism independently; their status as living entities is a topic of ongoing scientific debate.