Health Flashcards
Define health
The state of physical and mental wellbeing
Define diseases
Disorders that affect part or all of an organism
What is a communicable disease?
A disease that can be passed from person to person
What is a non communicable disease?
A disease that can’t be passed from person to person
Define correlation
A pattern that occurs that COULD indicate a relationship between two things, but is not always actually a relationship
Define risk factor
Anything that increased the liklihood of developing a disease or injury
What are the 3 harmful chemicals in smoking?
Carbon monoxide
Tar
Nicotine
What is Carbon monoxide (CO) and its effects?
- poisonous gas in tobacco smoke
- reduces oxygen carrying capacity in blood by binding with haemoglobin
What is Tar and what are its effects?
- sticky black substance that accumulates in lungs, reducing SA
- can break down alveoli, causing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Is carcinogenic
What is nicotine and what are its effects?
- addictive substance in cigarettes
- can cause side effects to stomach, heart and hormones
Define passive smoking
Someone who doesn’t smoke, but inhales chemicals from people smoking around them
Why might pregnant smokers face stillbirths?
- a developing foetus relies on O² to grow
- if mother is a smoker, it may bot get enough oxygen (because of CO)
- may lead to low birth weight or stillbirth
What is alcohol and what are its effects?
- (Is ethanol)
- toxic
- carcinogenic, can increase risk of liver cancer, which spreads rapidly and is hard to treat
- can cause cirrhosis
What is cirrhosis?
A disease caused by alcohol consumption that destroys liver tissue. Active liver cells are replaced with tough scar tissue, so liver is unable to carry out functions
What can heavy alcohol consumption do to the brain?
- make parts soft 😨😨
- these soft parts cannot function properly
What effects does alcohol have on pregnancy
- alcohol absorbs across the placenta into the foetus
- it’s developing liver can’t handle alcohol, so it develops foetal alcohol syndrome
What are the effects of ionising radiation?
- penetrates cells and damages chromosomes, causing DNA mutations
- can lead to development of cancer
What is cancer?
A tumor formed due to a breakdown in the cellular control mechanism that limits cell division
What is a tumor?
A mass of abnormal cells that divide continously
When does DNA mutate?
During mitosis
What are the 2 ways cells with damaged DNA are prevented from producing tumors?
- being destroyed
- DNA being repaired
What are the risk factors for cancer?
- smoking
- poor diet
- ionising radiation
- chemical carcinogens
- microbes
- genetics
What are the 2 types of tumor?
Benign
Malignant
What are benign tumors?
- Growths of abnormal cells contained in one area, usually with a membrane
- Can grow very large but do NOT destroy surrounding tissue
- Do NOT invade other parts of the body
What are malignant tumors?
- They destroy surrounding tissue
- Cells can break away and spread via blood or the lymph into other sites where the form secondary tumors
What is metastasis?
When malignant tumor cells migrate using blood vessels
Why is cancer dangerous?
- can interfere with activities of cells in surrounding tissues
- benign tumors can compress tissues, preventing blood flow or nerve function
- malignant tumors invade surrounding tissues and kill normal cells
How is cancer treated?
Chemotherapy
- chemicals that stop cancer cells dividing or cause them to self destruct
Radiotherapy
- cancer cells destroyed using targeted doses of radiation, stopping them from dividing
Some cancer are treated with both to maximise positive effects
