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. A change in the sequences of bases in the DNA of an organism - resulting in an alteration in the manufacture or function of a body protein. Also refers to the process by which such a change in DNA sequence occurs due to the action of a mutagen - e.g.






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






3. The structure within the eye where the iris meets the cornea - where excess aqueous humour from the front of the eye can drain.






4. A screening procedure has high of this if - in people who do not have the disease being screened for - the procedure is very likely not to detect disease - that is - to give a negative result. Numerically - this is calculated by expressing the number






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






6. The systematic application of a test or investigation to people who have not sought medical attention - in order to identify those whose risk of developing a particular disease is sufficient to justify further action.






7. A stimulus that has no intrinsic power to trigger a particular response but which acquires this power after being associated with another stimulus. For example - a bell does not normally trigger salivation but - after pairing with food - it acquires






8. A thick ring of muscle that controls pupil size - thereby regulating the amount of light that enters the eye. It forms the coloured portion of the eye.






9. Bonding Which is due to the electrical attraction of equal and opposite electrical charges and which holds the ions in salt crystals together.






10. Each element has been assigned one of these - often the first letter - or two of the first letters of the name; for example - H stands for hydrogen - C for carbon - N for nitrogen - Ca for calcium and O for oxygen.






11. A class of substances arising from outside the body - but Which bear a close similarity to naturally occurring opioids in their structure and effect; they include heroin derived from the opium poppy and morphine.






12. The unit used to measure equivalent dose and effective dose (Sv).






13. Complex structures in the body formed from a number of different tissues - which form a distinct structure and serve a particular function - e.g. the heart - the brain - the lungs. (CS 2 & 4)






14. 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






15. A method of purifying water - e.g. filtering - that involves individual people treating water as they use it - rather than having purified water delivered to them from a remote water-treatment plant in pipes.


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






17. 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.






18. The system of organs and structures in which gas exchange takes place. In mammals it consists of the airways - the lungs and the muscles that mediate the movement of air into and out of the lungs.






19. Memory for events or issues related to oneself.






20. Diseases that cannot be transmitted from person to person (also known as 'non-infectious diseases' or 'chronic conditions' or 'long-term conditions'); they mainly develop slowly over time and persist for a long period - or are irreversible; e.g. canc






21. 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






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






23. Any fracture where the skin has not been broken.






24. In screening - a person whose screening test result is negative (indicating no disease) - and who actually does not have the disease.






25. High blood pressure in the blood vessels supplying the lungs - a sign that blood flow is restricted in some way.






26. A process at an interface of two media in which the direction of light is deviated within the new medium.






27. 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.






28. A molecule that facilitates a reaction but Which is left unchanged at the end; catalysis refers to the action of this.






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






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






31. The volume of air remaining in the lungs after a maximum expiration (abbreviated to RV).






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






33. 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.






34. Two or more atoms held together by chemical bonds - e.g. hydrogen (H2) - water (H2O) - carbon dioxide (CO2).






35. The level of intensity of stimulation of a neuron at which it first shows activity. The term is used particularly in the context of sensory neurons.






36. The neuron that stores and releases neurotransmitter at a synapse with another neuron or a muscle cell.






37. Tells you which type of atoms are bonded together to make up a compound or molecule - using symbols for its constituent elements. It also shows How many of each type of atom there are (e.g. the formula for carbon dioxide - CO2 - shows it has one carb






38. The part of the nervous system consisting of the brain and spinal cord.






39. A representation using chemical symbols that shows the order in which the atoms are joined together; e.g. the structural formula of water is shown as HOH.






40. A readily measured statistic or parameter that can be used in place of a more complex statistic - or to 'stand in for' one that is impossible to measure directly; e.g. disease statistics are often used as this for the 'health' of a population; the nu






41. Immune system cells that circulate around the body helping to protect it from infection and some other types of disease; also known as white cells.






42. A bond between two atoms formed when an outer electron from each of the atoms is shared between them to form an electron pair bond.






43. Diseases or disorders that develop as a result of the interaction over time of a combination of different risk factors - none of which on its own would be likely to cause the disease. These may include the inheritance of certain gene mutations from a






44. A mathematical adjustment that enables disease and mortality rates to be compared from countries with different age-structures - i.e. different proportions of young - middle-aged and older people in their populations. The method involves taking a ver






45. One of a family of similar chemicals that have the generic name of 'alcohol' - with the chemical formula C2H5OH.






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






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






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






49. A form of notation (also known as 'scientific notation') used for expressing very large or very small numbers.






50. 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.