Cells + Inflammation Flashcards
red blood cell
erythrocytes
carry oxygen
most common type of blood cell
white blood cell
leukocytes
three main subtypes - granulocytes, lymphocytes and monocytes
fight infection and foreign invaders
neutrophils
type of white blood cell
prevent infection by blocking, disabling and digesting foreign particles
make up 40-60% of white blood cell
monocytes
largest type of leucocyte
differentiate into macrophage and monocyte derived dendritic cell
part of the innate immune system
tissue repair
mitosis vs meiosis
mitosis = normal cell division
meiosis = cell division during foetal and embryonic development
atrophy
degeneration of muscles or nerve tissues
wasting
metaplasia
abnormal condition where healthy mature cells are replaced by a different kind of mature cell tissue
hypertrophy
enlargement of an organ or tissue from the increase in size of its cells
dysplasia
abnormal growth or development of a tissue or organ
precursor to cancer
apoptosis
cell death
cell injury
any kind of damage or harm that occurs to a cell
hyperplasia
enlargement of an organ or tissue caused by an increase in reproduction of cells
angiogenesis
formation of new blood vessels from preexisting vessels
carcinogen
cancer causing substance
carcinoma
cancer that forms in epithelial tissue of the skin or of the lining of the internal organs
chemotherapy
treatment that uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells
differentiation
process by which unspecialized or less specialized cells acquire specialized structures and functions
epigenetics
the study of the chemical modification of specific genes or gene associated proteins of an organism
heritable changes in gene expression
leukaemia
cancer of the blood
lymphoma
group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes
metastases
cancer cells break away from initial site and travel through blood or lymph stream to form new tumors
mutation
changes in chromosomes and genes
neoplasm
new and abnormal growth of tissue in a part of the body
type of cancer
oncogene
a gene which in certain circumstances can transform a cell into a tumor cell
proliferation
process of cell division resulting in an increase in the number of cells
sarcoma
malignant tumor
arises from cells in the connective tissue (mesenchymal)
generally begins in the bones or soft tissue
gene silencing
specific genes are inhibited from being expressed
stem cell
undifferentiated cell
can divide to produce offspring cells that may differentiate
transformation
genetic material (naked DNA) is transferred between microbial cells
results in genetic alteration of a cell resulting from this transfer
tumor marker
bio marker that can indicate the presence of cancer or cancer behaviour
tumor suppression gene
encodes a protein that acts to regulate cell division
hypersensitivity
body’s immune system is abnormally sensitive to an antigen
results in an exaggerated immune response
autoimmune
immune system reacts negatively to body’s own normal components
alloimmunity
immune response to nonself antigens from members of the same species
eg; when the body rejects transplanted tissues
