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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. In screening - a person whose screening test result is positive (indicating disease) - but who actually does not have the disease.






2. 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.






3. A theory of pain that was first proposed by Patrick Wall and Ronald Melzack in 1965. It suggests that there is - metaphorically speaking - a 'gate' within the spinal cord such that - if the gate is closed - nociceptive messages can be blocked. If the






4. Long chain-like molecules (polymers) made from smaller molecules called amino acids joined by chemical bonds. The chains fold up into complex shapes giving them a wide range of functions. Major constituent of all organisms.






5. A proteinase (protein-degrading) enzyme that catalyses (facilitates) the breakdown of elastin and other related proteins.






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






7. A) A transparent and flexible convex structure behind the iris that (together with the cornea) refracts light. b) A transparent object - usually made of glass or plastic - that refracts light. Found in spectacles - magnifying glasses and microscopes.






8. A characteristic of an organism is said to be adaptive if an individual possessing that characteristic has an advantage over other members of the same species in terms of survival or reproduction; e.g. ability to evade predators - attractiveness to t






9. The integrated body system of organs - tissues - cells and proteins that functions to protect the body from potentially pathogenic organisms (microbes) or harmful substances.






10. A hormone Which is normally secreted by the brain in response to decreased water levels in the body. When alcohol is drunk - ethanol acts on the brain and inhibites the release of this - allowing the kidneys to make more urine.






11. 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.






12. A process whereby a parameter is maintained at a nearly constant value because deviations from its normal value tend to trigger actions that 'negate' the deviation and return it to normality; e.g. a fall in body temperature is fed back via the nervou






13. A measure of body weight - taking height into account. Calculated by dividing person's weight (mass) in kilograms (kg) by their height in metres squared (m2). In most assessments - 20.0-24.9 is considered to be a normal healthy weight - 20.0 is categ






14. The process whereby oxygen is taken up by cells and used in chemical reactions involving the oxidation of nutrient molecules (e.g. glucose) derived from food; these reactions release usable chemical energy for cellular processes. (CS 5 & 7)






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






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






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






18. A state of inadequate supply of oxygen to the brain and other vital organs - often as a result of severe blood loss.






19. Death.






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






21. The size and direction of a push or pull.






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






23. A general loss of intellectual abilities including memory - judgement and abstract thinking - as well as personality changes.






24. The process of expiring or breathing out; the emission of air from the lungs.






25. Disease or disorder that often has a gradual onset - involves slowly changing symptoms and lasts for a long time.






26. The layer of the eye - between retina and sclera - which absorbs any light that has not interacted with the rods and cones in the retina.






27. A covalent bond formed by the sharing of four electrons - two from each atom at either end of the bond.






28. Microbes that cause disease.






29. A study in which the participants do not know into which group they have been allocated - e.g. whether they have received a drug or a placebo.






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






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






32. An outbreak of an infectious disease in a community - region or country - characterised by a sharp increase in the number of cases - followed after an interval by a decline to a normal level






33. A visual impairment in which the lens of the eye loses transparency and exhibits reduced light transmission.






34. An uncharged particle in the nucleus of an atom.(






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 process by which collagen is produced by fibroblasts following tissue damage - often resulting in scar formation.






37. Intoxication so extreme that it leads to unconsciousness that can result in death.






38. The time between a pathogen entering its host and the host beginning to show disease symptoms; varies from one infectious disease to another.






39. The pressure exerted by blood pressing on the walls of the arteries. This is frequently expressed as two numbers - systolic (higher pressure during heart contraction) and diastolic (lower pressure between heart contractions) - measured in mmHg.






40. Being shorter at a given age by a specified amount below the population average.






41. The study of toxins and their effects on living organisms.






42. The new tissue formed as a wound repairs - containing tiny new blood vessels that give it a grainy appearance.






43. The cells that resorb (disassemble) bone.






44. Countries that provide universal education for their children - with populations that have high rates of literacy - comprehensive health services and which meet certain other development indicators - such as 100% access to safe drinking water and san






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






46. A measure of the dose of ionising radiation to an organ that takes into account the type of radiation used. Some types of radiation are more damaging than others (because they tend to lead to double-strand breaks in the DNA rather than the more easil






47. A graft where the donor tissue comes from the same person (as opposed to an allograft where it comes from another person).






48. An internationally recognised health indicator - defined as the number of babies in every 1000 live births who die in their first year of life.






49. Pain of relatively short duration and associated with actual damage to tissues.






50. A condition in which the optic nerve becomes damaged - usually because the pressure of fluid within the eye becomes too high - leading to a progressive loss of vision.