Biology 2 - Core Flashcards by Grace Lee

What are micro-organisms?

living things too small to see with the naked eye - such as bacteria, viruses, fungi

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What causes symptoms of infectious diseases to show?

when the level of toxins produced by the micro-organisms reaches a certain level/ is too high

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what allows these micro-organisms to survive in the body?

the conditions are just right - there’s food, water, oxygen, temp, change in pH levels

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What happens to reproduction in perfect conditions?

it increases rapidly

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How long does reproduction take?

micro-organisms can easily take anywhere between 15 minutes - days to divide

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Define exponential growth

when growth rate becomes ever more rapid in proportion to total size or number (with more micro-organisms - growth rate increases)

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What is the formula for exponential growth?

x(t) = a*b(to the power of t/tau)

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in Expo Growth formula, x is?

quantity of bacteria given

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in Expo Growth formula, t is?

time

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in Expo Growth formula, a is?

amount of bacteria at the start

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in Expo Growth formula, b is?

growth factor

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in Expo Growth formula, tau is?

time taken to double

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What form is the immune system?

layers

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What are the body’s physical barriers to illness?

skin
sweat
tears
earwax

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Internal barriers to illness

mucus

stomach acid

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What are white blood cells activated by?

the immune system

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Why does the immune system activate white blood cells?

for defence against micro-organisms

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How many types of white blood cell are there?

two

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What are the two types of white blood cell?

Neutrophils, B-cells

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What are neutrophils?

white blood cells which engulf the mirco-organisms and ingest them, their behaviour is NON-SPECIFIC

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What are B-Cells?

white blood cells which make a substance called anti-bodies, they are memory cells

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What are anti-bodies?

a protein produced in response to an antigen, in order to counteract it - they combine chemically with alien substances

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What are antigens?

the markers made out of protein on the surface of a micro-organism

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What does the production of antibodies enable in the future?

a very rapid immune response if the same micro-organism infects again

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What has to happen in order to prevent an epidemic?

95% of people need to be vaccinated - this will protect the people who have not received the vaccine

What are the risks of a vaccine?

due to differing genetic make up no vaccine or drug is 'safe' as people will alll react differently, the side effects need to be balanced with the need

Define antimicrobials

chemicals that kill bacteria, viruses and fungi

Define antibiotics

chemicals only effective against bacteria - WILL HAVE NO EFFECT ON VIRUSES OR FUNGI

Where do mutations take place?

in the genes of micro-organisms

What do mutations lead to?

new strains of an illness, no longer affected by the antimicrobial

What are the three types of trial?

Open label, blind, double blind

What is an open label trial?

both the doctor and patient know the treatment being tested

What is a blind trial?

only the doctor is aware of the specific treatment, the patient does not know

What is a double blind trail?

neither the doctor nor patient is aware of the specific treatment

When would an open label trail be used?

when the new treatment is similar to the original | when a drug is being compared to physical therapy

When would a blind trail be used?

when a new type of surgery is being used

Why would a double blind trial be used?

to remove all possibility of a biased result

Define placebos

dummy drugs containing no medication - used to establish whether a new drug is effective

What is the heart?

a muscular organ - a double pump - in the circulatory system

1/ Blood goes INTO

right atrium

2/ moves into

right ventricle - to get pumped to the lungs

3/ oxygenated blood returns through

left atrium

4/ moves into

left ventricle - to get pumped round the body

What do arteries do?

carry blood away from the heart

What do veins do?

carry blood back to the heart

What are capillaries?

narrow, thin walled vessels, allow blood to move through one cell at a time

What is heart disease?

an abnormality of the heart that can lead to heart attacks

What causes heart disease?

lifestyle and genetic factors - not by infection

What lifestyle factors can lead to heart disease?

poor diet smoking misuse of drugs stress

A function of the white blood cells?

ingest and destroy pathogens

A way in which antibodies neutralise pathogens?

sticking them together so they are ingested more easily

What can a vaccine involve?

injecting an inactive form of the pathogen to stimulate immunity

Define pathogen

a micro-organism that can cause disease

One main reason to be careful not to overuse antibiotics

dangerous strains of resistant bacteria may develop by natural selection - causing immunity to the antibiotic

One reason drug development is so expensive

most chemicals developed do not pass all the tests

Where is blood pressure the greatest?

in the arteries

What does being overweight and smoking increase?

the risk of heart disease

In a test, individual cases do not provide what?

convincing/ reliable evidence

How can we garantea the most reliable claims?

they have been checked and repeated by others multiple times

Why is water balance important?

to maintain cell concentration

How does alcohol affect urine?

more is produced

How does ecstasy affect urine?

a smaller volume of less dilute urine is produced

Decreased ADH production caused by?

alcohol

Increased ADH production caused by?

ecstasy

What is ADH?

hormone controlling urine concentration

Where is ADH produced?

pituitary gland

What is the pituitary gland?

monitors the concentration of blood plasma

What is blood pressure?

the pressure of the blood against the walls of the arteries as it results from two forces

What are the two forces effecting blood pressure?

systolic, diastolic

What is systolic pressure?

pressure from the heart as it contracts and pumps blood into the arteries and through the circulatory system

What is diastolic pressure?

pressure from the force of the arteries as they resist the flow when the heart relaxes

What is a sphygmomanometer used for?

measuring the pressure of the blood against the walls of the arteries

What does each number in a blood pressure reading mean? (a/b)

``` a = systolic pressure b = diastolic pressure ```

What is blood pressure measured in?

mmHg

What are epidemiological studies?

studies aiming to find the direct causes for heart disease

What is homeostasis?

the maintenance of a constant internal environment

What controls homeostasis?

the nervous system and hormones