human biology

Question 1

what is an atheroma made of?

Answer 1

cholesterol, fibrous materials and calcium

Question 2

what cardiovascular diseases does atherosclerosis cause?

Answer 2

angina, heart attack, stroke and peripheral vascular disease

Question 3

what happens to the artery when an atheroma grows?

Answer 3

thickens and loses elasticity as diameter of lumen is reduced so restricted blood flow causes higher blood pressure

Question 4

what might happen if an atheroma gets too big?

Answer 4

rupture and damage the endothelium

Question 5

what do clotting factors activate?

Answer 5

conversion of the enzyme prothrombonin to its active form thrombin

Question 6

what does thrombin cause?

Answer 6

fibrogen forms threads of fibrin

Question 7

what does fibrin form?

Answer 7

a meshwork that clots the blood, seals the wound and provides a scaffold for formation of scar tissue

Question 8

formation of a clot is called?

Answer 8

thrombosis

Question 9

what is formed when a thrombus breaks away?

Answer 9

embolus which travels through bloodstream and can block blood vessels

Question 10

what does a thrombosis in a coronary artery lead to?

Answer 10

myocardial infarction (MI)

Question 11

what does a thrombosis in an artery in the brain lead to?

Answer 11

stroke

Question 12

what is the connection between peripheral vascular disease and atherosclerosis?

Answer 12

atherosclerosis causes peripheral vascular disease in arteries besides heart or brain by narrowing the artery

Question 13

which arteries are commonly affected by peripheral vascular disease?

Answer 13

leg arteries where there’s a limited supply of oxygen

Question 14

which type of blood clot causes pain and can break away and form a pulmonary embolism in the lungs?

Answer 14

deep vein thrombosis (DVT)

Question 15

what is cholesterol?

Answer 15

a lipid found in cell membrane - can make sex hormones

Question 16

what organ synthesises 25% of all cholesterol?

Answer 16

liver

Question 17

what type of diet causes high cholesterol?

Answer 17

high in saturated fats and cholesterol

Question 18

which lipoprotein transports excess cholesterol from body cells to liver to eliminate?

Answer 18

high density lipoprotein (HDL)

Question 19

which lipoprotein transports cholesterol to body cells?

Answer 19

low density lipoprotein (LDL)

Question 19

what does HDL do?

Answer 19

prevents accumulation of cholesterol in the blood

Question 20

what do LDL receptors do?

Answer 20

take LDL into the cell where cholesterol is released