AMT Medical Laboratory Scientist (MLS) Practice Exam 2025 - Free MLS Practice Questions and Study Guide

The term that describes organisms obtaining nutrients by consuming other organisms is heterotrophic. Heterotrophic organisms are those that cannot produce their own food through processes like photosynthesis or chemosynthesis; instead, they rely on organic substances from other living entities for their nutritional needs. This category includes animals, fungi, and many bacteria, which feed on either plants, other animals, or decaying organic matter.

In contrast, autotrophic organisms can produce their own food from inorganic substances, usually through photosynthesis (using sunlight) or chemosynthesis (using chemical reactions). Photosynthetic organisms, a subset of autotrophs, specifically harness light energy to create food, while saprophytic organisms get their nutrients from decaying organic material, and although they do consume other organisms, they do so specifically from dead matter rather than living organisms outright. Thus, the most accurate term to describe those which consume other organisms is heterotrophic.