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MCAT Prep Biology

Subjects : mcat, science
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. The portion of the digestive tract that stores and grinds food. Limited digestion occurs in the somach - and it has the lowest pH in the body (1-2).






2. The muscular femal organ - in which a baby develops during pregnancy.






3. Specialized tissue with a lot of space that can fill with blood upon proper stimulation - causing teh tissue to become firm. Erectile tissue is found in the penis - the clitoris - the labia - and the nipples.






4. The first (approximately 5%) of the small intestinte.






5. The small artery that carries blood away from the capillaries of the glomerulus.






6. Also known as the neurohyophysis - the posterior pituitary is made of nervous tisssue and stores and secretes two hormones made by the hypothlamus; oxtytocin and ADH. The posterior pituitary is controlled by action potentials from the hypothalamus.






7. The 'blind spot' of the eye - this is where the axons of the ganglion cells exist the retinal to form the optic nerve. There are no photoreceptors in the optic disk.






8. A molecule formed by joining many monosaccharides together. POlysaccharides are typically energy- storage molecules (glycogen in animals - starch in plants) or structural molecules (cellulose in plants - chitin in exoskeletons).






9. The collection of fluid in the alveoli - particularly dangerous because it impedes gas exchange. Common causes of pulmonary edema are increased pulmonary blood pressure or infection of the respiratory system.






10. The majority of the cells surrouding an oocyte in a follicle. Granulosa cells secrete estrogen during the follicular phase of the ovarian cycle (before ovulation).






11. The uptake of material into a cell - usually by invagination. See also 'phagocytosis' - pinocytosis - and receptor - mediated endocytosis..






12. The outermost layer of teh skin. The epidermis is made of epithelial tissue that is constantly dividing at the bottom; teh cells migrate to teh surface (dying along the way) to be sloughed off at the suface.






13. A function the reproductive system (conrolled by the sympathetic nervous system) that returns the body to its normal resting state after sexual arousal and orgasm.






14. A chemical secreted by a T cell (usually the helper Ts) that stimulates activation and proliferation of other immune system cells.






15. A nucleoside with one or more phosphate gropus attached. Nucleoside triphosphates (NTPs) are the building blocks of RNA and are also used as energy molecules - especially ATP. Deoxynucleoside triphosphates (dNTPs) are the building blocks of DNA; in t






16. The constant inhibition provided to the heart by the vagus nerve. Vagal tone reduces the intrinsic firing rate of teh SA node from 120 beats/minute to around 80 beats/minute.






17. A small cell with extremely little cytoplasm that results from the unequal cytoplasmic divsion of the primary (produces the first polar body) and the secondary (produces the second polary body) oocytes during meiosis (oogenesis). The polar bodies deg






18. The volume of air inhaled and exhaled in a normla - resting breath - typically about 500 mL.






19. (1) The secretion of useful substances from a cell - either into the blood (endocrine secretin) or into a cavity or onto the body surface (exocrine secretion). (2) in the nephron - the movement of substances from the blood to the filtrate along the t






20. In the autonomic divison of the PNS - a neuron that has its cell body located in the CNS - and whose axon extends into the PNS to synapse with a second neuron at an autonoic ganglion. (The second neuron's axon synapses with the target axon)






21. Cells that make up exocrine galnds - adn that secrete their products into ducts. For example - in the pancreas - acinar cells secrete digestive enzyme; in the salivary glands - acinar cells secrete saliva.






22. The third phase of the ovarian cycle - during which a corpus luteum is formed from the remnants of the follicle that has ovulated its oocyte. The corpus luteum secretes progestrone and estrogen during this time period - which typically lasts from day






23. The main duct of the pancreas. The pancreatic duct carries the exocrine secretions of the pancreas (enzymes and bicarbonate) to the small intestine (dueodenum).






24. The nerve extending from the back of teh eyeball to teh brain that carries visual information. The ptic nerve is made up of the axons of the ganglion cells of the retina.






25. The plasma membrane of a muscle cell.






26. Also called simply - 'islet cells' these are the endocrine cells of the pancreas. Different cell types wihtin the inslets secrete insulin - glucagon - and somatostatin






27. The primary male sex organ. The testes are suspended outside the body cavity in the scrotum and have two functions (1) produce sperm - and (2) secrete testosterone.






28. A hormone produced from vitamin D that acts in essentially the same manner as parathyroid hormone.






29. Molecules made from monosaccharides that serve as the primary source of cellular energy -. Carbohydrates can also act as cell surface markers (good thing to remember).






30. (Singular:villus). Folds of the intestinal mucosa that project into the lumen of the intestine; vili serve to increase the surface area of the intestine for absorption.






31. A layer of collagen fibers that separates epithelial tissue from connective tisse (example of epithelial cells in digestive tract) - they are actual connective tissue.






32. A person with blood type AB+. Because this person's red blood cells possess all of the typical blood surface proteins - they will not display an immune reaction if transfused with any of the other blood types.






33. The maximum amount of air that can be forcibly exhaled from the lungs after filling them to their maximum level - typically about 4500 mL






34. A hormone released by the posterior pituitary that stimulates uterine contractions during childbirth and milk ejection during breastfeeding.






35. A carrier protein that transports two molecules acrss the plasma membrane in opposite directions.






36. The reduced form of NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide). This is the most common electron carrier in cellular respiration.






37. A hormone made of amino acids (in some cases just a single - modified amino acid). Peptide hormones are generally hydrophilic and cannot cross the plasma membranes of cells - thus receptor for peptide hormones must be found on the cell surface. An ex






38. An energy storage molecule used by muscle tissue. The phosphate from creatine phosphate can be removed and attached to an ADP to generate ATP quickly.






39. The portion of the nephron where water reabsorption is regulated via antidiuretic hormone (ADH). Several nephrons empty into each collecting duct - and this is the final region through which urine must passon its way to the ureter.






40. The first part of the large intestine.






41. An enzyme secreted by the juxtaglomerular cells when blood pressure decreases. Renin onverts angiotensinogen to angiotensin I.






42. The first phase of the uterine (endometrial) cycle - during which the endometrium from the previous cycle is shed off. Estrogen and progesterone levels are low during this time period. Menstruation typically lasts from day 1 to day 5 of the cycle.






43. A protein that is associated with the plasma membrane of a cell - but that is not embedded in the lipid bilayer. Peripheral proteins typically associate with embedded proteins through hydrogen bonding or electrostatic interactions.






44. The cells of the afferent artery at the juxtaglomerular apparatus. They are baroreceptors that secrete renin upon sensing a decrease in blood pressure.






45. The smalles of all blodo vessles - typically having a diamtere just large neough for blood cells to pass through in single file. Capillaries have extremelyu thin walls to faciliate the exchange of material between the blood and the tissues.






46. A four - subunit protein found in red blood cells that binds oxygen. Each subunit contains a heme group - a large multi - ring molecule with an iron atom at its center. One hemoglobin molecule can bind four oxygen molecules in a cooperative manner.






47. The valve that regulates the passage of chyme from the stomach into the small intestine.






48. Aromatic bases found in DNa and RNA that have a single - ring structure. They include cytosine - thymine - and uracil.






49. An activated B cell that is secreting antibody.






50. Transfer RNA; the type of RNA that carries an amino acid from the cytoplasm to the ribosome for incorporation into a growing protein.