A fermionic atom is an atom whose total quantum state has half-integer angular momentum and obeys Fermi-Dirac statistics as a composite particle. Counting the parity of its fermionic constituents distinguishes fermionic and bosonic isotopes when the atom remains intact.
For example, neutral lithium-6 is fermionic, while lithium-7 is bosonic. Identical fermionic atoms in the same internal state have antisymmetric exchange symmetry, constraining their allowed low-energy collision states. The label concerns the complete atom's exchange behavior, not whether each of its constituent particles is a fermion.
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