Organ System & Subject Test Vocab Flashcards
Homeostasis concepts
Must adapt to changing circumstances to satisfy needs for food, water, and oxygen; must be able to rid of waste like CO2, feces, and urea (do this with excretion); bodily systems must be coordinated to maintain homeostasis
Homeostasis
Dynamic process that enables optimum conditions to be maintained in and around cells despite continual changes taking place both internally and externally
Circulatory system
Composed of all the vessels in the body that carry blood, along with the heart
Heart
The organ that pumps blood throughout the circulatory system
Arteries
Large blood vessels that carry blood AWAY from the heart
Arterioles
Smaller blood vessels that carry blood from arteries to capillaries
Capillaries
Very small (about the size of one red blood cell) blood vessels where EXCHANGE (O2, CO2, sugar, hormones, etc.) takes place between the blood vessels and body tissues
Venules
Carry blood from capillaries to veins
Veins
Large blood vessels that carry blood TOWARDS the heart
Hemolymph
Circulates oxygen in an open circulatory system
Pulmonary circuit
Carries deoxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs, where it becomes oxygenated; carries that oxygenated blood back to the heart
Systemic circuit
Carries oxygenated blood everywhere else in the body, returning to the heart with deoxygenated blood
Right atrium
Carries deoxygenated blood from the systemic circuit and pumps it into the right ventricle
Superior/inferior vena cava
Bring deoxygenated blood to the right atrium
Right ventricle
Pumps blood through the pulmonary artery into the pulmonary circuit
Pulmonary vein
Brings oxygenated blood to the left atrium
uterus
the womb in which the fetus develops
vacuole
a space in the cytoplasm of a cell that contains fluid
vagus nerve
the tenth cranial nerve that innervates digestive organs, heart and other areas
vein
a blood vessel that carries blood back to the heart from the capillaries
ventral root
the basal branch of each spinal nerve; carries motor neurons
ventricle
the more muscular chamber(s) of the heart that pump blood to the lungs and to the rest of the body
vestigial organ
an organ that is not functional in an organism, but was functional at some period in its evolution
villus
a small projection in the walls of the small intestine that increases the surface area available for absorption
vitamin
an organic nutrient required by organisms in small amounts to aid in proper metabolic processes
white matter
an accumulation of axons within the CNS that is white because it is fatty, myelin sheath
wood
xylem that is no longer being used
xylem
vascular tissue of the plant that aids in support and carries water
yolk sac
a specialized structure that leads to the digestive tract of a developing organism and provides it with food during early development
zygote
a cell resulting from the fusion of gametes
