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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 constantly repeating variation of some quantity that transfers energy from one position in a medium to another.






2. 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.






3. To breathe more rapidly and deeply than normal.






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






5. A cancer that has the ability to spread or metastasise into healthy tissue. (Also called 'invasive' cancer)






6. 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.






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






8. The term given to those units of measurement that scientists all over the world have agreed to use in their publications; e.g. the second (s) - the kilogram (kg) - and the metre (m).






9. Pain that arises from psychological triggers such as social loss; e.g. bereavement - marital breakdown.






10. 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






11. 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.






12. A synapse at which the release of neurotransmitter from a presynaptic neuron has an inhibitory effect on a postsynaptic cell - i.e. it inhibits the appearance of action potentials in the second cell.






13. 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






14. The process of reducing pain - e.g. by taking morphine.






15. The production of any colour by varying the relative intensities of the subtractive primaries (cyan - magenta and yellow).






16. Blood vessels that convey blood away from the heart.






17. An eye care professional qualified to perform eye tests and record the findings in a lens prescription.






18. The type of muscle tissue that is responsible for moving parts of the musculoskeletal system.






19. A segment of this contains the coded information required for a cell to make a particular protein. Humans probably have about 25 000. Different forms or variants of these - called alleles - determine how these characteristics are expressed in a given






20. The ability of the brain to take information and perform informed calculations (e.g. calculating the width of a space in which to park a car).






21. A tissue that covers a surface or lines a space inside the body - forming a barrier or interface across which substances are absorbed or secreted - e.g. the skin - gut lining - and various glands.






22. That part of the nervous system that is not within the central nervous system. It is made up of nerves throughout the body.






23. The total process in an organism by which oxygen is conveyed to tissues and cells - oxidation of nutrient molecules releases useable energy - and the oxidation products (carbon dioxide and water) are given off.






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






25. Counts of deaths.






26. 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.






27. A technique for monitoring the activity of the different regions of the brain. One method involves injecting a radioactive tracer substance and measuring its later appearance in different brain regions; high concentrations correspond to regions of hi






28. 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






29. A subdivision of a rounded mass of tissue. For example - in the breast - this is used to describe an individual branched subsection of the mammary gland.






30. 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.






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






32. A form of energy that can be described as either a wave or as a flow of 'packets' of energy. It includes gamma rays - X-rays - ultraviolet - visible light - infrared - microwaves and radio waves. The different types of radiation are distinguished by






33. Ducts lined with epithelial cells that originate in the dermis and release sweat onto the surface of the skin.






34. A painful eye condition caused by repeated infections with the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis .






35. An electrically charged atom or molecule. May be positively or negatively charged; e.g. Na+ (the positively charged sodium ion) and Cl- (the negatively charged chloride ion).






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






37. Brain region involved in processing memories and emotional reactions.






38. 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.






39. Qualified to employ a range of equipment such as X-rays - MRI scanners - etc. to produce images to diagnose an injury or disease. They will then have undergone further specialist training in mammography. (Two types - diagnostic and therapeutic; the l






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






41. 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.






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






43. Abbreviation of a eye-surgery technique where a flap is cut in the cornea and laser treatment applied beneath.






44. A chemical that has the effect of mimicking the action of a natural substance such as a neurotransmitter. (






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






46. Particulates suspended in air that are less than 10 micrometres in diameter.






47. 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






48. An agent - such as a chemical - ultraviolet light - or a radioactive substance that can induce - or increase the frequency of - mutations in DNA.






49. The use of a spirometer to measure the volume of air entering and leaving the lungs.






50. Much of the brain is divided down its midline into two halves - the left and right of this; also referred to as the 'left brain' and the 'right brain'.