A1 Understand health issues page 41 Flashcards
What challenges did doctors face with burn injuries during the Second World War?
Doctors faced severe burn injuries from crashes and explosions, with many patients dying before the burns could heal.
What techniques did surgeons McIndoe and Gillies pioneer for treating severe burns?
McIndoe and Gillies pioneered techniques like saline baths and skin grafting, using grafts with blood supply tubes to help heal severe burns.
What are the limitations of skin grafting surgery?
Skin grafts leave significant scars and may fail, requiring additional surgery, and they do not fully replicate natural skin.
How did stem cell research in the 1960s and 1970s impact skin grafting?
Stem cell research opened the possibility of growing sheets of skin, though the techniques were limited in success and could not fully regrow skin layers.
Why has it been difficult to fully regrow skin using stem cell techniques?
It has been difficult to regrow skin because structures in the lower skin layers, like hair follicles, cannot be reliably reproduced with current stem cell techniques.
What is epigenetics, and what role does it play in gene expression?
Epigenetics refers to how genes are switched on or off without changing the underlying genome, influencing processes like cell differentiation and disease.
How might epigenetic changes be linked to environmental factors during pregnancy?
Environmental factors like pollution during pregnancy can increase the risk of conditions like asthma in the baby due to epigenetic changes.
What potential does epigenetic research have for preventing diseases in the future?
Epigenetic research offers potential for reprogramming genetic code and preventing diseases by understanding how lifestyle and environmental factors affect gene expression.
