vital function
Life-sustaining activity
A vital function is a bodily process essential to life—heartbeat, breathing, circulation, brain activity.
Medical contexts distinguish vital functions from other biological processes: if vital functions cease, death follows.
The phrase extends metaphorically to anything indispensable to a system's operation: The department serves a vital function in the organization.
- vitalsBasic body measurements
- lifelineEssential connection to safety
- breathingPulmonary gas exchange
- oxygen intakeAir drawn into lungs
- blood flowMovement through vessels
staying alive · survival · fight or flight · circulation · digestion · thermoregulation · excretion · essential · homeostasis · body temperature · respiration · osmoregulation · heartbeat · necessary · lifeblood · immune response · nutrient absorption · metabolism
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