constitution

1. The physical makeup of a body, including the mode of performance of its functions, the activity of its metabolic processes, the manner and degree of its reactions to stimuli, and its power of resistance to the attack of pathogenic organisms or other disease processes. 2. In chemistry, the number and kind of atoms in the molecule and the relation they bear to each other. [L. constitutio, c., disposition, fr. constituo, pp. -stitutus, to establish, fr. statuo, to set up]

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con·sti·tu·tion .kän(t)-stə-'t(y)ü-shən n

1) the physical makeup of the individual comprising inherited qualities modified by environment

2) the structure of a compound as determined by the kind, number, and arrangement of atoms in its molecule

con·sti·tu·tion·al -shnəl, -shən-əl adj

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con·sti·tu·tion (kon″stĭ-tooґshən) [L. constituere to set up] 1. the make-up or functional habit of the body, determined by the genetic, biochemical, and physiologic endowment of the individual, and modified in great measure by environmental factors. Cf. diathesis and genotype. 2. in chemistry, the atoms making up a molecule and the way they are linked, the property that distinguishes a compound from its structural isomers. Cf. configuration.