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MCAT Kaplan Review > Biology > Flashcards

Biology Flashcards

528

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1
Q

What are the tenets of cell theory?

A

1) All living things are composed of cells
2) cells are the basic functional units of life
3) Cells arise only from other cells
4) Cells store information in DNA/nucleic acids

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2
Q

What is a quiescent state for cells?

A

When cells don’t actively divide, G0

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3
Q

What is the stage before G0?

A

G1, as once the cell enter S to synthesize its DNA it has devoted itself to replicating

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4
Q

What are Sertoli cells?

A

Sertoli cells are supportive cells in the tubulus

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5
Q

What are leydig cells?

A

Leydig cells are cells which secrete testosterone

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6
Q

What is the anatomical pathway for sperm development?

A

Sperm are produced in seminiferous tubules and stored in the epididymus for maturation

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7
Q

Where are sperm produced?

A

Sperm are produced in the seminiferous tubules

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8
Q

Where are sperm stored for maturation?

A

Sperm are strored in the epididymis for maturation

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9
Q

What are pluripotent cells?

A

Pluripotent cells are cell which can become many, but not all, cell types

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10
Q

What are totipotent stem cells?

A

Totipotent stem cells are cells which can become any cell type

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11
Q

What are differentiated cells?

A

They are cells which are no longer able to become all cell types

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12
Q

What is the purpose of the ductus venosus in the fetus?

A

The ductus venosis in the fetus connects the maternal and fetal circulations such as reducing blood flow to the liver

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13
Q

What is the purpose of the foreamen ovale in the fetus?

A

The foreamen ovale in the fetus moves blood from the right to the left atrium

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14
Q

What is the purpose of the ductus arteriosus in the fetus?

A

In the fetus, the ductus arteriosus connects the pulmonary artery to the aorta, allowing for blood to be shunted away from the pulmonary artery to the aorta, bypassing the lungs

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15
Q

Why is the ductus arteriosus in the fetus important?

A

By connecting the pulmonary artery to the aorta, it prevents high blood pressure for the still developing fetus

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16
Q

What do both Schwann and oligodendrocytes make?

A

Both Schwann and oligodendrocytes make myelin

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17
Q

Where are Schwann cells found in comparison with Oligodendrocytes?

A

Schwann cells are found in the peripheral nervous system while Oligodendrcytes are found in the central nervous system.

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18
Q

What is the first thing when an action potential is generated?

A

The neuronal membrane is depolarized by an influx of NA+ into the neuron

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19
Q

What happens to permeability when the neuronal membrane is repolarized

A

The increased permeability of K+ occurs when the neuronal membrane is repolarized

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20
Q

Does calcium ion permeability have an effect on action potential?

A

No, the influx of calcium only has a role in releasing neurotransmitter vesicles into the synaptic cleft

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21
Q

When does a stimulus directly influence the change of an axon potential?

A

This only holds true during the relative refractory period

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22
Q

What do steroid hormones most often bind to?

A

Steroid hormones often bind to intracellular receptors of target cells

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23
Q

How can steroid hormones diffuse past the plasma membrane of the cell into the cytoplasm?

A

They are made of cholesterol lipophillic rings

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24
Q

What do peptide hormones bind to?

A

Peptide hormones bind to its receptor on the surface of target cells (an example is insulin)

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25
Q

What does calcitonin do?

A

Calcitonin antagonizes Parathyroid hormone (PTH) and causes calcium levels to decrease in the blood)

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26
Q

What does the parathyroid hormone do?

A

The parathyroid hormone causes calcium blood concentration to increase in response to low blood calcium levels. PTH causes the osteoclasts in bone to break down bone, called resorption to increase calcium levels

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27
Q

During when in the menstrual cycle is progesterone highest?

A

Progesterone peaks about a week after ovulation, so during the luteal phase

28
Q

Where is most of water reabsorbed?

A

It is mainly reabsorbed in the collecting ducts of the nephron and is under the control of the anti-diuretic hormone (ADH)

29
Q

What does ADH do?

A

ADH, the anti diuretic hormone, causes the filtrate to become more concentrated by increasing the permeability of the collecting duct (more water is reabsorbed)

30
Q

What modulates the rate of glomerular filtration?

A

Glomerular filtration occurs at Bowman’s capsule

31
Q

What is the amount of air exchanged in a normal breath called?

A

The amount of air exchanged in a normal breath is called a tidal volume

32
Q

What is the maximum amount of air that can be moved in a single respiratory cycle?

A

Vital capacity is the maximum amount of air that can be moved in a single respiratory cycle

33
Q

What is the vital capacity of the lungs equal to?

A

You can think of the vital capacity of the lungs being equal to the tidal volume plus the inspiratory an expiratory reserve volumes (meaning its really te difference between the minimum and maximum amount of air the lung can hold)

34
Q

What is the minimum amount of air that remains in the lungs at all times?

A

The minimum amount of air that remains in the lungs at all times is called residual volume

35
Q

What is the total amount of air the lungs can hold called?

A

The total amount of air the lungs can hold is called total lung capacity

36
Q

What controls ventilation?

A

Ventilation is controlled by the medulla oblongata

37
Q

Where does gas exchange occur?

A

Gas exchange occurs across the alveolar-capillary membrane, with deoxygenated blood in the pulmonary artery being oxygenated at the alveolar-capillary boundary

38
Q

What does the contraction of the diaphragm cause?

A

When the diaphragm contracts, you get enlargement of the thoracic cavity, allowing for oxygen

39
Q

Arteries to which organ normally carry both oxygenated and deoxygenated blood?

A

The lungs are supplied by the pulmonary artery which carries deoxygenated blood from the right ventricle, but the lung tissue itself also needs oxygen

40
Q

What is the passage of oxygen traveling?

A

Oxygen goes from Pharynx to the Larynx to the Trachea to the broncioles

41
Q

What does it mean when you have “X” blood

A

“X” Blod that you have a blood whose cells have “X” antigen

42
Q

What does it mean when you have (-) RH

A

RH negative emans your cells lack the RH antigen, meaning that your blood has anti-RH antibodies

43
Q

How is carbon dioxide and levels of carbonic acid related?

A

An increase in blood CO2 causes an increase in carbonic acid in blood, decreasing pH

44
Q

How does pH relate to hemoglobin affinity?

A

Though increasing the pH,introductions of H+ decreases the affinity

45
Q

What are the differences between veins and arteries?

A

All arteries transport blood away from the heart and are under the highest pressure compared to veins and capillaries while veins transport blood to the heart

46
Q

What is transduction?

A

Transduction is the transfer of genes from one bacterium to another using a viral vector

47
Q

What is transformation?

A

Transfrmation is the uptake of “naked” DNA through the cell membrane

48
Q

What is conjugation?

A

Cojugation is analogous to sexual reproduction in eurkaryotes; requiring a sex pilus rather than a viral vector

49
Q

What are transposon?

A

Transposons are jumping genes that can insert or remove themselves from a genome

50
Q

How are osteoclasts in bone like macrophages?

A

Osteoclasts dissolve bone to release calcium, and macrophages also dissolve things

51
Q

What are the antibody and antbody-independent mechanism of actions of the Complement system

A

The complement system has a classical pathway that requires antigen binding as well as an alternative pathway that is antibody-independent

52
Q

What is the difference between positive and negative selection?

A

Positive selection is when immune cells are chosen by being able to respond to a specific antigen while negative selection is how immune cells that would normally cause a self-reaction are destroyed.

53
Q

What is opsonization

A

When antibodies bind to a pathogen and recruit leukocytes to phagocyte those antigens

54
Q

What is domain variability?

A

Domain variability is a method of increasing antigen diversity.

55
Q

Do long-chain fatty acids pass through the liver?

A

Fatty acids do not pass through the liver, instead they bypass the liver through the lacteals

56
Q

What are latceals?

A

Lacteals are small lymphatic vessels found in the small intestine which transport long-chain fatty acids into the lymphatic system

57
Q

What two word phrases can be used to describe sympathetic versus parasympathetic?

A

Sympathetic is more “flight or fight” while sympathetic is “rest and digest”

58
Q

What are the kinds of muscle tissue?

A

There is skeletal, smooth, or cardiac muscle tissue

59
Q

What is the epidermal layer? What organ does it best describe?

A

The epidermal layer is the top most layer of skin whose function is to serve as a barrier to protect internal organs from external elements.

60
Q

What are some examples of connective tissue?

A

Some examples of connective tissue including bone, loose connective tissue like collagen, and fibrous connective tissue like ligaments and tendons

61
Q

What is connective tissue?

A

Connective tissue is any type of biological tissue with an extensive extracellular matrix

62
Q

Are muscles generally attached to other muscles?

A

No

63
Q

Tendons versus ligaments?

A

Tendons connect bone to muscle while ligaments connect bone to bone

64
Q

What ion being released from where causes muscle contraction?

A

The release of Ca2+ from the sarcoplasmic reticulum is responsible for muscle contraction

65
Q

Can muscle tissue undergo fermentation?

A

Yes, muscles doesn’t only have to carry out aerobic respiration. It can undergo fermentation in anaerobic conditions and produce lactate from pyruvate (lactate, or lactic acid, is what is responsible for muscle fatigue)

66
Q

Compare skeletal, smooth, and cardiac muscle.

A

Skeletal muscle is striated and under voluntary control while smooth muscle lack those striations and are involuntary. Cardiac muscle is both smooth in the sense it is involuntarily controlled, but skeletal as it has striations

67
Q

What is the founder effect?

A

The founder effect is a form of genetic drift, a change in gene frequency that results due to chance. The founder effect itself specifically refers to when a small population is isolated from a larger population, resulting in a substantially different allele distribution.

MCAT Kaplan Review (5 decks)

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