Glossary Unit I

Amoeba a very small, simple organism consisting of only one cell

Autotroph a living thing that can make its own food from simple chemical substances such as carbon dioxide

Bacteria Any of a large group of one-celled organisms that doesn’t have a cell nucleus

DNA A nucleic acid that carries the genetic information in cells and some viruses, consisting of two long chains of nucleotides

Carbon a widely distributed element that forms organic compounds in combination with hydrogen, oxygen, etc.

Carbon dioxide a colorless, odorless, incombustible gas, CO 2 , present in the atmosphere and formed during respiration

Cell the basic structural and functional unit of living organisms

Chemical makeup chemicals in a substance

Disease a pathological condition of a body part, an organ, or a system

Glucose a type of sugar

Heterotroph a living thing that gets its food from other plants or animals

Hydrogen a colorless, odorless, flammable gas that combines chemically with oxygen to form water

Homeostasis the tendency of a system, especially the physiological system of higher animals, to maintain internal stability

Flagella a long, lash like appendage serving as an organ of locomotion in protozoa, sperm cells, etc.

Insect a small creature with six legs, for example a bee or a fly

Larval the immature, wingless, feeding stage of an insect that undergoes complete metamorphosis.

Metabolism all the chemical processes in your body, especially the ones that use food

Multicellular composed of several or many cells

Nitrogen a colorless, odorless, gaseous element that constitutes about four-fifths of the volume of the atmosphere and is present in combined form in animal and vegetable tissues

Nucleus the central part of an atom or cell

Offspring children or young of a particular parent or progenitor

Oxygen colorless, odorless, gaseous element constituting about one-fifth of the volume of the atmosphere and present in a combined state in nature.

Photosynthesis the process by which a plant uses the energy from the light of the sun to produce its own food

Pollution damage caused to water, air, etc. by harmful substances or waste

Reproduction the natural process among organisms by which new individuals are produced

Respiration physical and chemical processes in an organism by which oxygen goes to cells, carbon dioxide and water go out

Span a limited space of time

Substance that of which a thing consists; physical matter or material

Tissue an aggregate of similar cells and cell products forming a definite kind of structural material with a specific function, in a multicellular organism

Unicellular having or consisting of a single cell

Unit II

Biosphere the part of the earth's environment where life exists

Blood vessel one of the small tubes that blood flows through in your body

Bone one of the hard pieces that make the structure inside a person or animal

Circulatory system the system of organs and tissues, including the heart, blood, blood vessels, lymph, lymphatic vessels, and lymph glands, involved in circulating blood and lymph through the body.

Ecosystem a system, or a group of interconnected elements, formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their environment.

Environment the air, water, minerals, organisms, and all other external factors surrounding and affecting a given organism at any time

Heart a hollow, pumplike organ of blood circulation, composed mainly of rhythmically contractile smooth muscle, located in the chest between the lungs

Hierarchical a system in which things are arranged according to their importance

Kidney one of the two organs in your body which remove waste from the blood and produce urine

Lymph a clear yellowish, slightly alkaline, coagulable fluid, containing white blood cells in a liquid resembling blood plasma

Lung one of the two organs inside your chest that are used for breathing

Molecule the smallest unit of a substance, consisting of one or more atoms

Muscle one of many pieces of tissue in the body that are connected to bones and which produce movement by becoming longer or shorter

Respiratory relating to the process of breathing

Species a group of plants or animals which share similar characteristics

Unit III

Arteriosclerosis degenerative changes in the arteries, characterized by thickening of the vessel walls and accumulation of calcium with consequent loss of elasticity and lessened blood flow.

Calcium a silver-white divalent metal, occurring combined in limestone, chalk, gypsum, etc., occurring also in vertebrates and other animals, as a component of bone, skeletal mass, shell, etc.

Carbohydrate any of a class of organic compounds that are polyhydroxy aldehydes or polyhydroxy ketones, or change to such substances on simple chemical transformations, as hydrolysis, oxidation, or reduction, and that form the supporting tissues of plants and are important food for animals and people.

Catalyst a substance that causes or accelerates a chemical reaction without itself being affected.

Chemical reaction a process that involves changes in the structure and energy content of atoms, molecules, or ions but not their nuclei

Compound composed of two or more parts, elements, or ingredients

Corticosteroid any of a class of steroids

Disorder a disturbance in physical or mental health or functions; malady or dysfunction

Electron an elementary particle that is a fundamental constituent of matter, having a negative charge of 1.602 × 10 −19coulombs, a mass of 9.108 × 10 −31kilograms, and spin of ½, and existing independently or as the component outside the nucleus of an atom

Enzyme any of various proteins, as pepsin, originating from living cells and capable of producing certain chemical changes in organic substances by catalytic action, as in digestion

Fingernail the nail at the end of a finger

Hormone any of various internally secreted compounds, as insulin or thyroxine, formed in endocrine glands, that affect the functions of specifically receptive organs or tissues when transported to them by the body fluids

Insulin a polypeptide hormone, produced by the beta cells of the islets of Langerhans of the pancreas, that regulates the metabolism of glucose and other nutrients

Immunity the condition that permits either natural or acquired resistance to disease

Inorganic not having the structure or organization characteristic of living bodies

Jaundice yellow discoloration of the skin, whites of the eyes, etc., due to an increase of bile pigments in the blood, often symptomatic of certain diseases, as hepatitis

Keratin a scleroprotein or albuminoid substance, found in the dead outer skin layer, and in horn, hair, feathers, hoofs, nails, claws, bills, etc.

Liver a large, reddish-brown, glandular organ located in the upper right side of the abdominal cavity, divided by fissures into five lobes and functioning in the secretion of bile and various metabolic processes.

Lipid any of a group of organic compounds that are greasy to the touch, insoluble in water, and soluble in alcohol and ether: lipids comprise the fats and other esters with analogous properties and constitute, with proteins and carbohydrates, the chief structural components of living cells

Male a person bearing an X and Y chromosome pair in the cell nuclei and normally having a penis, scrotum, and testicles, and developing hair on the face at adolescence; a boy or man

Microbe a microorganism, especially a pathogenic bacterium

Masculine pertaining to or characteristic of a man or men

Neutron an elementary particle having no charge, mass slightly greater than that of a proton, and spin of ½: a constituent of the nuclei of all atoms except those of hydrogen

Nucleic acid any of a group of long, linear macromolecules, either DNA or various types of RNA, that carry genetic information directing all cellular functions: composed of linked nucleotides

Organic noting or pertaining to a class of chemical compounds that formerly comprised only those existing in or derived from plants or animals, but that now includes all other compounds of carbon

Pancreas a gland, situated near the stomach, which secretes a digestive fluid into the intestine through one or more ducts and also secretes the hormone insulin.

Proton a positively charged elementary particle that is a fundamental constituent of all atomic nuclei

Protein any of numerous, highly varied organic molecules constituting a large portion of the mass of every life form and necessary in the diet of all animals and other non photosynthesizing organisms

Potassium a silvery-white metallic element that oxidizes rapidly in the air and whose compounds are used as fertilizer and in special hard glasses.

Side-effect any effect of a drug, chemical, or other medicine that is in addition to its intended effect, especially an effect that is harmful or unpleasant

Stomach a saclike enlargement of the alimentary canal, as in humans and certain animals, forming an organ for storing, diluting, and digesting food.

Testosterone the sex hormone, C 19 H 28 O 2, secreted by the testes, that stimulates the development of male sex organs, secondary sexual traits, and sperm.

Vitamin any of a group of organic substances essential in small quantities to normal metabolism, found in minute amounts in natural foodstuffs or sometimes produced synthetically: deficiencies of vitamins produce specific disorders.