lyso-, lyo-, -lysin, -lys-, -lysis, -lytic, -lyt-, -lyz-

1. Someone or something that quickly makes certain things happen or causes events to take place: The destruction of the Twin Towers in New York on September 11, 2001, was the catalyst for U.S. attacks against terrorists in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc.

The first successful heart transplant was the catalyst which started the widespread medical development in the field of cardiology.

2. A substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without itself undergoing any change: All enzymes are catalysts and the human body has thousands of enzymes, each of which is specific in causing or accelerating changes in other substances within all living organisms.

Enzymes are important catalysts during digestion and many other functions in the body.

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1. The determination of the number of possible outcomes in idea games of chance by using formulas for computing numbers of combinations and permutations.
2. The study of large finite problems.

The procedures and methods used in translating or interpreting codes and ciphers; the science or study of such procedures.

The separation of impurities by mechanical elimination from the blood during kidney failure.

1. The use of electrolysis (process of splitting water into its components) to perform chemical analysis.
2. Chemical analysis using electrolytic techniques.