maturation

n.

1. The process of becoming mature.
2. Biology.
   1. The processes by which gametes are formed, including the reduction of chromosomes in a germ cell from the diploid number to the haploid number by meiosis.
   2. The final differentiation processes in biological systems, such as the final ripening of a seed or the attainment of full functional capacity by a cell, a tissue, or an organ.

maturational mat'u·ra'tion·al adj.

(mach'ərā'shən)
n

The process through which an organism or body structure arrives at a state of complete development. In dentistry, this is the point at which an individual’s teeth have reached their full adult form, size, and function.

The process of acquiring the adult form and function of a body structure or system.

Maturation, in the broad sense, means all of the processes in the course of the development of an organism that lead it to a mature state. In a more precise sense, it can be taken to mean the set of preprogrammed mechanisms that set in motion and coordinate the functions necessary for the life of the organism, before they come into operation, and for which biological maturation creates the means and conditions.

The term has made only marginal appearances in psychoanalytic literature. It would seem that Freud never used it in his writings, as evidenced by its absence in James Strachey's detailed index to the Standard Edition.

However, Donald W. Winnicott called one of his books The Maturational Processes and the Facilitating Environment, but, as the title itself indicates, the term is used with the broad understanding that most of the work on mental development could be considered to be studies of maturation. With explicit references to embryogenesis, René Spitz (1979) attempted to describe the organizers that preside over the succession of maturative stages of the mind (the first smile, walking, language)—these organizers themselves being preprogrammed.

From a totally different angle, the adjective maturing is sometimes used to characterize some of an analyst's interpretations in the course of the treatment, in a sense similar to what led James Strachey in 1969 to refer to mutative interventions. Here the term is used to designate interpretations that favor the process of maturation in the treatment through a reorganization of the psychic apparatus.

Bibliography

Spitz, René. (1979). L'embryologie du moi. Une théorie du champ pour la psychanalyse. Paris: Complexe.

Strachey, James. (1969). The nature of the therapeutic action of psycho-analysis. International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 50 (2), 275-291.

Winnicott, Donald W. (1965). The maturational processes and the facilitating environment. London: Hogarth and the Institute of Psycho-Analysis.

—ROGER PERRON

1. the stage or process of attaining maximal development. In biology, a process of cell division during which the number of chromosomes in the germ cell is reduced to one-half the number characteristic of the species.
2. the formation of pus.

• m. arrest — an interruption in the progressive development of erythrocytes, characterized by a bone marrow dominated by macrocytes and megaloblasts. Seen in anemias caused by deficiency of folic acid and vitamin B₁₂.

Dansk (Danish)
n. - modning, modenhed, materiedannelse, materieafsondring

Nederlands (Dutch)
rijping, volgroeiing, (oorzaak van) ettervorming etc.

Français (French)
n. - maturation, vieillissement, affinage

Deutsch (German)
n. - Reifung, Reifen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - μέστωμα, ωρίμανση

Italiano (Italian)
maturazione

Português (Portuguese)
n. - maturação (f)

Русский (Russian)
созревание, достижение полного развития

Español (Spanish)
n. - maduración

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - mognad, varbildning

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
化脓, 成熟

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 化膿, 成熟

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 곪음, 원숙

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 成熟, 化膿

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) نضج‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮התבגרות, גמילה, הבשלה‬

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