Metastasis

n. pl. Metastases (#).

1. (Theol.) A spiritual change, as during baptism.
2. (Med.) A change in the location of a disease, as from one part to another.
3. (Physiol.) The act or process by which matter is taken up by cells or tissues and is transformed into other matter; in plants, the act or process by which are produced all of those chemical changes in the constituents of the plant which are not accompanied by a production of organic matter; metabolism.