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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. The type of bone (sometimes called compact) that is more dense (compared with cancellous bone) and very strong. It is found in the parts of the bone that need to withstand the largest forces.






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






3. Often abbreviated to 'compound': a substance made up of two or more elements; it may be composed of molecules or ions.






4. 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.






5. A graphical method of showing whether two numerical variables are related to one another. They are called 'variables' because they can each have a range of possible values. Each data point represents a particular entity - such as a country - for whic






6. The process of urban development - i.e. of towns and cities - and the movement of an increasing proportion of a country's population from rural to urban environments.






7. Haemoglobin bound to oxygen molecules. Transports oxygen from blood vessels in the lungs to the cells in the rest of the body.






8. Insufficient levels of oxygen in the blood or tissue.






9. Vital to many chemical reactions in the body. Crystals containing these form an important part of the structure of bones.






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






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






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






13. The volume of air inhaled and exhaled at each breath when resting (abbreviated to TV).






14. The standard scientific (SI) unit for measuring volume; it has the symbol l.






15. A scale from 0 to 14 describing the acidity or alkalinity of a solution - where 7 is neutral - greater than 7 is more basic (alkaline) and less than 7 is more acidic.






16. Any cell that ingests and destroys foreign particles - bacteria and cell debris.






17. A cancerous tumour arising in epithelial tissue that has the ability to metastasise (spread) to other parts of the body.






18. 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.






19. The experience of being in an unpleasant situation - over a period of days - weeks or longer - in which one is unable to exert control over circumstances which are not of one's choosing. The coping resources necessary to meet the demands of this unpl






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






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






22. That part of the nervous system which exerts an influence over a number of the internal organs of the body - such as the gut - heart and blood vessels. Functions without conscious intervention.






23. Death.






24. The environmental factors impacting on survival and reproduction in a population of organisms in which there is variation between individuals in their ability to withstand adverse conditions or benefit from advantageous circumstances. The result of t






25. Diseases in which the pathogen causing the disease lives part of its life cycle in water; e.g. cholera - cryptosporidiosis.






26. The transparent gelatinous fluid within the eyeball (between the lens and the retina).






27. 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.






28. The pressure exerted by the Earth's atmosphere at a particular location as a result of the mass of the column of air above it. At sea level - it is 760 mmHg or 101.325 kPa.






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






30. A method for determining the efficiency of gas transfer between the lungs and the pulmonary blood capillaries.






31. The light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eyeball that contains the visual receptor cells (rods and cones).






32. A type of cell that is found within the nervous system and Which is specialised to transmit and process information (colloquially referred to as 'nerve cell').






33. A process in which light passes through a medium unaffected - e.g. light passing through clear glass.






34. A narrow beam of light used to show the direction of travel of light from a source.






35. The organelles found inside myofibres that run the length of the cell and cause contraction.






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






37. A form of plasticity within the connections between the neurons that underlie nociception and pain - such that - over time - increasing levels of pain are experienced even though the stimulus remains unchanged.






38. 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






39. Pain that appears to arise in a part of the body that no longer exists - e.g. in a limb that has been amputated.






40. The type of bone that is less dense (compared with compact bone) and contains struts (trabeculae) to provide strength. It is found within the widened areas inside the ends of the bones.






41. 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)






42. An irreversible lung disease that is a combination of emphysema and chronic bronchitis - in which airway obstruction causes breathing difficulties - including shortness of breath.






43. The effects of ionising radiation are said to be this if there is a threshold below which there is no effect - and if above that threshold - the severity depends on the amount of radiation received.






44. A technique where people learn to change their thought patterns and behaviour to create feelings of coping and self-efficacy; e.g. people in chronic pain might be taught to place a less catastrophic interpretation on their pain.






45. A complex specialised molecule embedded in the outer membrane of a cell - or in its internal structure - which has a unique three-dimensional shape and patterns of electrical charge that enable it to bind specifically to a particular signalling molec






46. 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).






47. 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)






48. A group of primates - to which modern humans belong - characterised by upright posture and a very large brain in relation to body size.






49. A substance produced by an endocrine gland that is carried around the body in the blood - and affects the structure or functions of specifically receptive target organs or tissues.






50. Persistent inflammation over long periods of time that occurs when the tissues are unable to overcome the effects of an injurious agent.