Broader than "cryonic suspension"; suspension of all biological activity, by infusing the patient with cryoprotective chemicals and freezing or vitrifying (cryonic suspension), or by chemically bonding cellular components in place. [K. Eric Drexler, 1986

Similar to the older term "suspended animation." A state in which a patient is maintained without biological activity, thereby preventing decay. Currently this is practiced in the unperfected form of cryonic suspension, in which the patient is frozen and stored at -196°C. Biostasis might take at least two other forms: Vitrification, in which low-temperature storage is achieved without ice crystallization; or chemical methods for locking all reactive molecules into place.

Biostasis is the ability of an organism to tolerate environmental changes without having to actively adapt to them. The word is also used as a synonym for cryostasis or cryonics. It is found in organisms that live in habitats that may encounter unfavourable living conditions (ie. drought, freezing, a change in pH, pressue, or temperature).

A condition in which an organism's cell and tissue structures are preserved, allowing later restoration by cell repair machines.