Title: resorption
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - resorption
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.11175
Status: current

Definition
Removal of mineralized tissue by natural processes, as in the breakdown of bone by osteoclasts or the disappearance of a tooth.
Disintegration and assimilation of an embryo or fetus through a natural process involving lysis and removal of all the products of conception by cells of the maternal immune system.
In multigestational pregnancies, death of one fetus followed by absorption of its tissue by another, sometimes referred to as a "vanishing twin".

Related Terms
- conception: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/10550
- fetus: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/10718
- gestational: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/10764
- osteoclasts: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/16262

Source
- PAC, 2016, 88, 713. 'Glossary of terms used in developmental and reproductive toxicology (IUPAC Recommendations 2016)' on page 800 (https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2015-1202)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/11175/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/11175/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/11175/xml

Citation: Citation: 'resorption' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.11175
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Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.
Accessed: 2026-05-08T02:03:13+00:00