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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. A substance that cannot be broken down into simpler substances by chemical reactions. It consists only of the atoms characteristic - e.g. hydrogen (H) - oxygen (O) - nitrogen (N) - sodium (Na) - chlorine (Cl) - mercury (Hg). There are 92 naturally oc






2. A class of animals characterised by having the body covered in hair - by having a four-chambered heart - and by feeding their young on milk produced by the female.






3. In screening - a person whose screening test result is negative (indicating no disease) - but who actually has the disease.






4. Structures in the kidney that filter the blood and produce the urine.






5. A multi-disciplinary programme of care for patients with chronic respiratory conditions - Which is tailored to the individual and combines exercise and education to address all aspects of living with the condition.






6. A hormone secreted by the suprarenal gland (formerly the adrenal gland) upon stimulation by the central nervous system in response to stress - anger - fear or exertion. It has many effects on the body - e.g. increasing heart rate and output. Also kno






7. A response to a stimulus or substance (such as alcohol) which occurs rapidly and produces severe - possibly life-threatening - symptoms.






8. The most common type of glaucoma - caused by a partial blockage of trabeculae - which reduces the rate at which the aqueous fluid can drain away from the eye and thus leads to a build up of intraocular pressure.






9. Literally meaning 'alien to nature' - the term is commonly used to refer to chemicals in the natural environment that are of human origin.






10. This refers to a random effect of ionising radiation. There is no radiation threshold at which the effect inevitably occurs - but the probability of an effect occurring increases with the amount of radiation received.






11. A small unit of energy frequently used by physicists and denoted by the symbol eV.






12. An estimate of the probability of developing a particular disease or disorder in a population that has been exposed to a particular risk factor - relative to the probability of developing the condition if the risk factor was not present.






13. Microscopic organisms (bacteria - fungi and protoctists) - together with viruses - whether pathogenic (disease-causing) or harmless; also known as microorganisms.






14. A small group of atoms bonded together which carry an overall electrical charge; e.g. the bicarbonate ion and the nitrate ion.






15. A thin membrane (a double layer of lipids) enclosing the cytosol and organelles of a cell.






16. The flow of blood back to the heart in the veins.






17. The cells that produce new bone.






18. The distance between atoms in a molecule.






19. The process of detecting stimuli that cause actual or potential damage to the tissues of the body.






20. The pressure exerted by a gas. It is the sum of the partial pressures of each individual gas in a mixture of gases - e.g. oxygen - carbon dioxide - nitrogen and other gases that make up the air in the lungs.






21. The number of cases of a disease - disorder or disability in a population - relative to the total number of people at risk of developing it; usually expressed as the number of cases per 1000 (or per 10 000 - or per 100 000 or per million) population.






22. A visual impairment that interferes with day-to-day functions that an affected person considers to be normal.






23. A drug that widens the airways of the lungs and eases breathing by relaxing smooth muscle in the walls of bronchioles.






24. A class of neuron that detects the presence of stimuli in the world - such as tactile events - heat - cold or tissue damage.






25. For a screening procedure such as mammography - the number of true positive results expressed as a percentage of the total number of positive results (true or false). It tells (other things being equal) What the chance is that a person with a positiv






26. Categorised into three progressive stages: fatty liver - hepatitis and cirrhosis.






27. A bundle of the axons of neurons in the peripheral nervous system. (Occasionally employed informally to refer to a bundle of axons within the central nervous system.)






28. A technique in which a person is placed in a particular psychological state and - in response to suggestions made by the hypnotist - can experience alterations in perception - memory and voluntary action.






29. The system of muscles and bones and their various joints and linkages that facilitates support and movement in the body.






30. Death.






31. A protein that is abundant in the extracellular matrix and can form long thin fibres to provide structure to many tissues.






32. A break in the continuity of a bone. Classified according to the extent of damage and the subsequent position of the broken pieces.






33. An electrical difference across the membrane of cells that arises from an unequal concentration of ions on either side. It is also termed 'voltage'.






34. A protective reaction of body tissues to irritation - injury - or infection - characterised by pain - heat - redness and swelling.






35. An insoluble fibrous protein that forms clots following tissue damage.






36. Radiation which can cause ionisation. From the electromagnetic spectrum this includes gamma rays - X-rays and some high-energy ultraviolet radiation.






37. A factor that strengthens a tendency to engage in a particular behaviour.






38. A protein produced by a living organism that functions as a catalyst. It facilitates other molecules entering into chemical reactions with one another - but is itself unaffected by these reactions.






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






40. A break in one of the helical strands of a DNA molecule - caused by ionising radiation.






41. The process of inspiring or inhaling; the drawing in of air into the lungs.






42. Anything that is statistically associated with an increased chance of developing a particular disease - disorder or disability in a population; when the incidence of the disease is examined in different populations it is found to occur more frequentl






43. Any one of numerous proteins in a mammalian cell that are part of the machinery that detects and repairs mistakes in DNA caused by errors during DNA copying - or by the effects of mutagens. They help to minimise the number of mutations - and when the






44. The smallest unit of an element that still has the properties of the element. Made up of a positively charged atomic nucleus - containing protons and neutrons - surrounded by negatively charged electrons.






45. A synapse at which the release of neurotransmitter from a presynaptic neuron has an excitatory effect on a postsynaptic cell - e.g. it excites further action potentials in a second cell.






46. A lens shape with a greater thickness at each end than through the centre.






47. The clinical approach to tissue repair that seeks to build new tissues in a similar manner to the way in which they form naturally (rather than the way in which they repair after damage).






48. Degenerative disease of the retina that results in loss of vision in the centre of the visual field. It is caused by an impaired blood supply to the macula. This condition is usually associated with ageing.






49. An intense conscious occupation with thoughts of the object of an addiction.






50. A type of cell that is responsible for contraction in skeletal muscle tissue. They are long and thin and have many nuclei. (Also known as muscle fibre)