life

1. Vitality, the essential condition of being alive; the state of existence characterized by such functions as metabolism, growth, reproduction, adaptation, and response to stimuli. 2. Living organisms such as animals and plants. [A.S. lif]

- half-l. half-l..

- postnatal l. that interval of l. after birth; in humans, usually divided into periods: neonatal, infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.

- prenatal l. that interval of l. between conception and birth; in humans, usually divided into embryonic and fetal periods.

- quality of l. a patient's general well-being, including mental status, stress level, sexual function, and self-perceived health status.

- sexual l. in psychiatry and psychoanalysis, the specifically erotic or sexual interests, fantasies, inclinations, and conduct of the patient.

- vegetative l. the simple metabolic and reproductive activity of humans or animals, apart from the exercise of conscious mental or psychic processes.

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lifestyle intervention, food, and exercise program; Losartan Intervention for Endpoint Reduction in Hypertension [trial]; lung imaging fluorescence endoscope

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life 'līf n, pl lives 'līvz

1 a) the quality that distinguishes a vital and functional plant or animal from a dead body

b) a state of living characterized by capacity for metabolism, growth, reaction to stimuli, and reproduction

2 a) the sequence of physical and mental experiences that make up the existence of an individual

b) a specific part or aspect of the process of living <sex \life> <adult \life>

life·less 'līf-ləs adj

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(līf) the aggregate of vital phenomena, a distinctive stimulated condition of organized matter; that principle whereby organized beings are endowed with certain powers and functions not associated with inorganic matter. Generally, living things share, in varying degrees, the following characteristics: organization, irritability, movement, growth, reproduction, and adaptation.