Test your basic knowledge |

Introduction To Health Sciences Vocab

Subject : health-sciences
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. That part of the nervous system that exerts control over the skeletal muscles and thereby over behaviour.






2. A study in which neither the participants (e.g. patients) nor the experimenters (e.g. therapists) know into which group the participants have been allocated (e.g. either drug or placebo groups).






3. The eye chart used to determine how well a person can see at various distances. Named after a 19th-century Dutch ophthalmologist Hermann Snellen (1834-1908) who devised a test for visual acuity.






4. A substance composed of positively and negatively charged ions - held together by the electrical attraction between opposite charges. Salts such as sodium chloride (NaCl) - in which the ions are organised in a regular crystal lattice - are this.






5. Countries that are only partly industrialised and where national wealth is below that of the developed economies (also known as low- and middle-income countries). They rely to a much greater degree than developed countries on subsistence farming - sm






6. Matter formed from saliva mixed with mucus and any foreign material such as dust - Which is coughed up (expectorated) from the lower respiratory tract and usually ejected from the mouth.






7. The entire range or extent of some quantity - arranged in order; e.g. electromagnetic or visible light.






8. The removal for diagnostic study of a piece of tissue from a living body.






9. Tiny particles of calcium that appear as small specks on a mammogram. When clustered in one area of the breast - they may indicate the presence of cancer cells.






10. Colours on opposite sides of the colour circle.






11. Severe psychological shock.






12. A class of neuron that is neither sensory nor motor.






13. The amount of air that can be forcefully expired from fully inflated lungs in the first second of expiration - abbreviated to FEV1.






14. A clearly stated provisional explanation for a set of observations or data - devised for the purpose of testing its validity by the collection of additional data or by conducting an experiment.






15. Blood that contains very little oxygen.






16. The cells that resorb (disassemble) bone.






17. The time between one peak of a wave and the next .






18. The junction where a neuron influences another cell - the latter being either another neuron or a muscle cell. (






19. Any unintended and undesirable consequences of medical treatment; also known in medicine as an adverse effect or reaction.






20. A tube conveying a body fluid - especially a glandular secretion - for example milk from the lobules of the mammary gland to the nipple.






21. Recognisable assemblages of plants and animals - such as woodland - grassland - rivers - etc. - in which a distinct set of plants and animals live together and interact with one another.






22. A small depression in the retina of the eye - with high visual capability - consisting exclusively of cones.






23. An aspect of a characteristic that represents an adaptive compromise between two opposing evolutionary pressures; e.g. the human pelvis represents a compromise between being narrow - Which is necessary for running at speed - and being wide - Which is






24. A screening programme (sometimes called 'individual screening' or 'targeted screening') that identifies individuals who are likely to be at substantially greater risk of developing a certain condition than others in their population group. These indi






25. A cell that is part of a malignant tumour; not subject to the body signals that tell normal cells when to divide or stop dividing - so they multiply in an uncontrolled way.






26. Contains protons - each of which carry a single positive electric charge - and neutrons which are uncharged.






27. Most common type of age-related macular degeneration - in which the blood supply to the retina is reduced - resulting in gradual loss of vision.






28. The total amount of air that can be taken in to the lungs during a maximum inspiration - or expelled during a maximal expiration. (Abbreviated to VC)






29. The electrical forces holding two atoms together.






30. The part of a neuron that consists of a long wire-like projection - ending in a terminal which participates in a synapse with another cell. Action potentials are transmitted along these.






31. The mechanisms in the nervous system underlying an automatic and unconscious reaction to a particular stimulus - i.e. a reaction that cannot be controlled by will-power.






32. Haemoglobin bound to carbon monoxide. It is formed in the blood when carbon monoxide is inhaled - reducing the ability of the blood to form oxyhaemoglobin.






33. A group of steroid hormones produced mainly by the ovaries (some are also produced by fat deposits in the body) - which are responsible for promoting the development and maintenance of female sexual characteristics.






34. An event that follows a particular behaviour and which strengthens the tendency to repeat that behaviour. For example - if relaxation follows drinking alcohol it would be said to reinforce the tendency to drink alcohol.






35. The material outside the cells in a tissue in which the cells are embedded. It is mainly made from proteins made by and arranged by the cells.






36. The cultivation of land for the purpose of crop production and/or the rearing of livestock - primarily for food - but also to provide materials - e.g. for fuel - clothing and shelter.






37. A class of natural neurotransmitters that have a similar structure and action to morphine and heroin.






38. Leading global causes of visual impairment that have been identified by the WHO's Vision 2020 project as targets that can be prevented or treated. They include refractive errors and low vision - cataract - glaucoma - AMD - diabetic retinopathy and tr






39. Cells that cover all surfaces of the body. (CS 3 - 4 - 6 & 7)






40. The total number of people who have a disease - disorder or disability at a particular point in time - expressed as a rate per 1000 (or per 10 000 - or per 100 000 or per million) population.






41. A measure of the refracting power of a lens. Calculated as: 1 / focal length of the lens (in metres). The unit used is dioptres (symbol D). The power of a convex lens is positive; for a concave lens it is negative.






42. A physiological reaction occurring in the body - triggered by the perception of aversive or threatening situations.






43. The process of breaking down foods in the body into the molecules needed to maintain life.






44. Inflammation with a rapid onset - severe symptoms and short duration.






45. Optimal corrected visual acuity worse than 6/18 - i.e. wearing optimal correcting lenses - the individual can distinguish letters on a test chart at 6 metres that a person with normal vision could read at 18 metres






46. A screening programme (sometimes called 'mass screening') that aims to screen everyone in a particular population group (rarely every citizen) - e.g. everyone over the age of 50 years - or all newborn babies. Attempts are made to screen everyone in t






47. Large blood vessels that carry blood towards the heart.






48. Stimuli to pain that are associated with social loss such as bereavement - marital breakdown.






49. The study of the fate of chemical contaminants in the natural environment and their effects on plants - animals and ecosystems.






50. A measure of the real impact of a particular disease - disorder or disability on people's lives (DALY) - combining an estimate of the number of years lived with a reduced quality of life - taking into account the severity of the condition (every cond