Maceration

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Maceration (from Latin maceratus, past participle of macerare, "to soften") may refer to:

• Extreme leanness usually caused by starvation or disease
• Preparation of a solution by soaking plant material in vegetable oil or water
• The steeping of grape skins and solids in must, where alcohol acts as a solvent to extract colour, tannin and aroma from the skins, during wine fermentation, see maceration (wine)
• Reducing solids to small pieces as in sewage treatment where macerators are used as pre-treatment to deal with rags and other solid material
• The process to separate bone from flesh, by letting the tissue rot, see maceration (bone)

• In Biology, the breakdown of semi-solid food from the oral cavity into chyme, which is then moved to the small intestine for absorption and more digestion.
• Maceration can also refer to the presence of excessive moisture on the skin that may cause skin damage.