noun
autolysis
Technical term in biology and medicine for the self-digestion of cells by their own enzymes, often after death or in certain pathological conditions.
死後、細胞は自己分解を始める。
After death, cells begin autolysis.
Compound of 自己 (self) and 分解 (decomposition, breakdown). The term is a direct translation of the English 'autolysis'.