trace element (tr s)n. 1. A chemical element required in minute quantities by an organism to maintain proper physical functioning. 2. A minute quantity or amount, as of a chemical compound. |
trace element
Etymology: L, trahere, to draw, elementum, first principle
an element essential to nutrition or physiologic processes, found in such minute quantities that analysis yields a presence of only trace amounts.
trace element,
n an element essential to nutrition or physiologic processes, found in such minute quantities that analysis yields a presence of virtually none.
trace element
essential ingredients of the diet of a particular species of animals but the amount required is very small. Includes copper, cobalt, iron, iodine, manganese, molybdenum, selenium and zinc. Chromium, fluorine and silicon are also necessary in some experimental diets but their addition to livestock diets is not considered to be essential. See also macroelement. Called also trace minerals.
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