Copy of `Making Sense of Health - Secondary students information`

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Making Sense of Health - Secondary students information Category: Health and Medicine Date & country: 15/12/2007, UK Words: 207

Hormone
Chemical secreted in small amounts, which coordinates growth and activities

Human Genetics Commission
(HGC) Advises the UK Government on ethical, legal, social and economic aspects of developments in genetics

Heart attack
Sudden failure of the oxygen supply to part of the heart, which damages heart muscle; painful and can be fatal

Health Protection Agency
(HPA) National agency to protect us from disease

Healthy
Free from disease and pain

Heart
An organ which pumps blood

Hallucinogen
Drug that makes you sense (see, hear) things that aren`t there

HDL cholesterol
A fat in the body, sometimes called good cholesterol

Haemoglobin
Chemical in red blood cells that carries oxygen

Haemophilia
A sex-linked inherited disorder in which blood doesn`t clot properly

Geneticist
Specialist in inheritance patterns and inherited disorders

Genetic testing
Testing an individual or a fetus for a particular gene

Genetic predisposition
Inherited tendency to be at increased risk of a disorder such as cancer or heart disease

Genetic
To do with genes

Genetic disorder
Disorder caused by variant or mutant alleles that prevent your body working properly

Genetic modification
(Genetic engineering) Transferring genes from the cells of one living organism into the cells of a different organism

Genes
These control the characteristics of plants and animals. They are passed on by parents in chromosomes. They are made of DNA

Gene therapy
A way of treating inherited disorders by putting normal alleles into cells

General practitioner
(GP) A qualified doctor; usually the first point of contact in the NHS

Gene screening
(Genetic screening) Testing a group of people or embryos for a particular gene

Gene cloning
Making copies of genes

Gametes
(Sex cells) Cells that join in sexual reproduction. They have half the normal number of chromosomes

Fit
Able to exercise without getting tired

Flexibility training
Stretching exercises to improve flexibility or suppleness

Fetus
A baby in the uterus whose organs are all growing; after the age of 6â€`8 weeks

Fats
Nutrients that provide your body with energy. Also used to make cell membranes

Fertilisation
When a male sex cell joins with a female sex cell to start a new plant or animal

Family tree
A diagram showing the pattern of inheritance of a feature through several generations of a family

Explosive exercise
Exercise for increasing speed of different movements such as running, jumping and throwing

Ethics
A set of principles that may help us to know how to behave and inform our decision-making

Enzyme
A protein substance made in cells that speeds up chemical reactions such as digestion

Embryo selection
(PGD, Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis) Embryos are fertilised outside the body and only those with certain genes are selected and implanted in the womb

Egg cell
(Ova (plural)) Female sex cell or ovum

Embryo
A young plant or animal before all its organs have started to grow; up to 6-8 weeks in humans

Drug
A substance that can change the way your body works, or be used to treat a disease

Down`s syndrome
A disorder caused by an extra chromosome

Donor
Someone who gives blood or a body part for the benefit of someone else

DNA
The chemical that genes and chromosomes are made of

Dominant allele
An allele that can hide the effect of another (recessive) allele

Disease
(Disorder) When some part of a plant or animal isn`t working properly

Diabetic
Person with diabetes, a disorder caused by shortage of the hormone, insulin

Diagnosis
Finding out what is wrong, e.g. with a patient

Digest
Break down food into small, soluble molecules that can be absorbed

Designer baby
Baby with chosen characteristics grown from a genetically modified fertilised egg cell

Depression
A mental state of feeling hopeless and worthless

Deoxygenated blood
Blood that has given up oxygen in the tissues

Depressant
Drug that slows down the way your mind and body work

Cystic fibrosis
An inherited disorder of cell membranes caused by a recessive allele

Coronary vein
Vein that takes blood away from the heart muscle

Correlation
A link between a factor and an outcome, such as smoking and cancer

CVS
(Chorionic villus sampling/biopsy) A biopsy of the folds of the outer membrane of a fetus taken for genetic testing (Earlier result than amniocentesis, however, less safe)

Coronary heart disease
When one or more arteries to the heart muscle is blocked preventing proper working of the heart

Coronary artery
Artery that takes blood to the heart muscle

Coronary
To do with the arteries that surround and supply the heart

Contract
In the case of a muscle, to become shorter and fatter

Core temperature
(Core body temperature) Inner body temperature; in humans it is about 37 degrees Celsius

Clone
Group of genetically identical living things

Contraceptive
A device or a drug to prevent pregnancy

Circulation
The flow of blood around the body through the heart, arteries, capillaries and veins

Cilia
Beating hairs on some cells that help to keep your airway clear; damaged by smoking

Chromosome
A structure made of genes found in the nucleus of a cell

Chorionic villus sampling-biopsy
(CVS) A biopsy of the folds of the outer membrane of a fetus taken for genetic testing (Earlier result than amniocentesis, however, less safe)

Chemotherapy
Using toxic chemicals to treat a patient

Cholesterol
Fat or lipid that your body needs â€` but too much causes problems

Central nervous system
Comprising the brain and spinal cord, it is the part of the nervous system that coordinates activities

Characteristic
A special features of an organism

Cell
The building block of plants and animals

Cause
When there is evidence to link a factor and an outcome, and we can explain how it happens, we can say that the factor causes the outcome, e.g. smoking causes cancer

Carrier
A person who has a recessive allele of a gene for a disorder and can pass it on to their children but who does not have the disorder themselves

Cardiovascular disease
A disease of the heart and blood vessels

Cardiovascular exercise
Exercise that increases your pulse and breathing rates

Carbon monoxide
A poisonous gas

Cardiac muscle
Heart muscle

Carbon dioxide
A gas in the air made in respiration

Carbohydrate
A nutrient such as starch and sugars that provides your body with energy

Cancer
A disorder in which cells grow out of control

Capillary
Narrow blood vessel with walls only one cell thick

Calcium
Mineral needed for making bones, and in blood

Breathing
Taking air in and out of the lungs

British Heart Foundation
Charity. See bhf.org.uk

BRCA1 and BRCA2
Two of the genes that increase your risk of developing breast cancer

Brain
An organ in the nervous system

Body mass index
(BMI) An estimate of body composition based on height to weight ratio

Blood
Liquid in the circulatory system

Blood pressure
The pressure that blood exerts on artery walls, normally below 140/90; usually treated with drugs at 160/100

Balanced diet
A diet containing all the nutrients in the correct proportions; one that meets the needs for energy and materials

Bacteria
Microorganism with a chromosome that is not in a nucleus; one is called a bacterium

Autosomal
Describes a chromosome that is not a sex chromosome

Artery
A blood vessel that carries blood away from the heart

Atria
(Atrium) The two upper chambers of the heart; one is called an atrium

Anxiety
Mental state of worry about future events

Antitoxin
A chemical made by white blood cells to neutralize toxins (poisons)

Antibody
A chemical made by white blood cells to destroy bacteria and other microorganisms

Antioxidant
A nutrient such as vitamin C that help to protect cells from damage

Anti-social behaviour
Behaviour that causes harm or upset to other members of society; it is often unlawful

Antibiotic
Chemicals that kill bacteria in your body

Amniotic fluid
The fluid surrounding a fetus

Amniocentesis
Medical procedure of taking a sample of fetal cells for genetic testing from the amniotic fluid surrounding a fetus. (Test carried out later in pregnancy than CVS â€` but safer for the fetus)

Allele
A form of a gene, e.g. the alleles for blue and for brown eyes are forms of one gene for eye colour

Alcoholic
A person who is addicted to alcohol