literally everything (B3.1, B3.2, B3.3) Flashcards
To not kill myself
Gas Exchange
Gas exchange occurs primarily in the alveoli, and involves the diffusion of oxygen into the bloodstream and the removal of carbon dioxide from the blood into the lungs, facilitating cellular respiration and maintaining proper blood pH.
Diffusion
Diffusion is a passive process that occurs across semi-permeable membranes, It is the movement of molecules from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration
Concentration Gradient
A concentration gradient refers to the gradual difference in the concentration of solutes in a solution between two regions, such as between the alveoli and capillaries. The gradient drives diffusion, where particles move from areas of high concentration to areas of low concentration, enabling processes like gas exchange, nutrient absorption, and waste removal.
Aerobic Respiration
Aerobic respiration takes place in the mitochondria of cells and involves the breakdown of glucose in the presence of oxygen to produce ATP (energy), carbon dioxide, and water, fueling cellular activities necessary for life processes.
Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis occurs in the chloroplasts of plant cells. It converts light energy into chemical energy by using carbon dioxide and water to produce glucose and oxygen,
Trachea
The trachea is a tube-like structure made of C-shaped cartilaginous rings and provides a passageway for air to move between the larynx and the bronchi,
Bronchus
The bronchi are branches of the trachea that lead into each lung, supported by cartilage rings to maintain their structure. They serve as major airways that direct air from the trachea into smaller bronchioles within the lungs, ensuring that air is distributed evenly throughout the lungs for gas exchange.
Bronchioles
Bronchioles are smaller, branching airways within the lungs, composed of smooth muscle. They regulate airflow by constricting or dilating and directing air to the alveoli, where oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged between air and blood.
Alveolus / Alveoli
Alveoli are tiny, spherical air sacs at the end of bronchioles, with thin walls (one cell thick) and a large surface area surrounded by a dense network of capillaries. They are the primary sites of gas exchange, allowing oxygen to diffuse into the blood and carbon dioxide to diffuse out,
Lungs
The lungs are large, spongy, lobed organs made up of millions of alveoli, bronchi, bronchioles, and blood vessels, enclosed by a pleural membrane to reduce friction with the chest wall during breathing. They facilitate gas exchange by bringing air into close contact with the bloodstream, allowing oxygen to enter the blood and carbon dioxide to be expelled,
Motile
An organism has the capability to move under its power. Through the use of the energy in the food, they eat to power muscles that allow them to move from place to place. For example, fish, birds, dogs.
Sessile
An organism that is fixed in one place, immobile. For example barnacles.
Muscle fibers
Long cells are formed by the fusion of many cells and are multinucleated which allows the muscles to move bones so you can perform lots of different movements.
Sarcolemma
The plasma membrane of muscle fibers - controls what enters and exits the muscle fiber. The sarcolemma contains protein receptors for the neurotransmitter acetylcholine.
Sarcoplasm
The cytoplasm of the muscle fiber - this is where the metabolism required for muscle contraction occurs.
Sarcoplasmic Reticulum
A modified endoplasmic reticulum that stores calcium ions which are involved in muscle contraction.
Myofibrils
Myofibrils are the contractile units of the muscle. They are composed of many repeating sarcomeres, that drive the contraction and relaxation of muscles.
Sarcomeres
Sarcomeres are composed of strands of actin and myosin proteins. Sarcomeres are responsible for muscle contraction.
Z lines
A protein band that defines the boundary between one sarcomere and the next in a muscle fiber.
M lines
The fine vertical line in the center of the sarcomere links myosin (thick) filaments to each other in a lattice-like arrangement.
Troponin
Troponin, or the troponin complex, is a complex of three regulatory proteins that are integral to muscle contraction in skeletal muscle and cardiac muscle, but not smooth muscle.
Tropomyosin
Tropomyosin is a two-stranded alpha-helical, coiled-coil protein found in many animal and fungal cells. In animals, it is an important component of the muscular system which works in conjunction with troponin to regulate muscle contraction.
Powerstroke
The myosin head moves toward the M line, pulling the actin along with it. As the actin is pulled, the filaments move approximately 10 nm toward the M line.
Sliding Filament Theory
The myosin (thick filaments) of muscle fibers slide past the actin (thin filaments) during muscle contraction, while the two groups of filaments remain at relatively constant length.
Actin
A family of globular multi-functional proteins that form microfilaments in the cytoskeleton, and the thin filaments in muscle fibrils. It is found in essentially all eukaryotic cells, where it may be present at a concentration of over 100 μM;
Myosin
Myosins are a family of motor proteins best known for their roles in muscle contraction and in a wide range of other motility processes in eukaryotes. They are ATP-dependent and responsible for actin-based motility
Titin
Titin is a long fibrous elastic protein that stretches from the Z line to the M line (in the middle of a sarcomere). Helps sarcomeres to recoil after stretching, and prevents over-extension of the muscle.
Antagonistic Muscles
As one muscle contracts the other muscle relaxes or lengthens. The muscle that is contracting is called the agonist and the muscle that is relaxing or lengthening is called the antagonist.
Motor Neurons
Motor neurons transmit action potentials from the central nervous system to an effector, such as a muscle or a gland. Motor neurons have a width of up to 100µm, but can have a length of over 1m in humans.
Action Potentials
An action potential is a rapid sequence of changes in the voltage across a membrane. The membrane voltage, or potential, is determined at any time by the relative ratio of ions, extracellular to intracellular, and the permeability of each ion.
Dendrites
The finger-like cells on the end of a neuron receive information from other neurons, called pre-synaptic neurons, or from the environment.
Cell Body
The cell body is the spherical part of the neuron that contains the nucleus and connects to the dendrites, which bring information into the neuron and send information to other neurons. The job of the cell body is to control all of the functions of the cell.
