ch 4.2.2 tetraogens

Question 1

describe tetraogens

Answer 1

• environmental agents which contribute negatively to prenatal development

Question 2

what are examples of tetraogens

Answer 2

• tobacco, alcohol
• medication
• virus or illness transmission

Question 3

what do you have to consider when testing for tetraogens

Answer 3

• dose (how much exposure)
• timing (when during gestation)
• cumulative effects (possibility of exposure to more than 1 tetraogen)

Question 4

what is the difficulty with identifying tetraogens

Answer 4

• difficult to identify specific environmental agent as experiments cannot be run to see if it actually causes negative outcomes in developing humans or not
• that’s why correlational research is used

Question 5

what research method can be used

Answer 5

• correlation research
• mouse models (i.e, zika virus)

Question 6

what period of gestation do tetraogens cause most harm

Answer 6

• embryonic period
• negative effects to bodily structure formation
• people do not know they are pregnant
• do not have much effect in zygote but can cause brain damage in fetal

Question 7

what condition can being exposed to alcohol cause in a fetus

Answer 7

• fetal alcohol syndrome
• 10% women drink during pregnancy around the globe and 1 in 67 children will suffer from this

Question 8

what are the effects of alcohol on developing infant

Answer 8

• damage to internal organs
• altered physical characteristics
• cognitive impairment

Question 9

what is a sleeper effect

Answer 9

• effects that take a while to manifest
• such as cognitive decline

Question 10

describe thalidomide as a tetraogen

Answer 10

• prescription medication for morning sickness
• described during period of embryo, infants born with malformed limbs
• did not effect the mothers

Question 11

describe zika virus as a tetrogen

Answer 11

• spread through mosquitos or through sexual contact with infected individual
• first associated with small head sizes (microcephaly) a
• stillbirth
• also impacted the pregnant mother: rash, itchy skin, joint pain

Question 12

what is zika exposure in utero linked to

Answer 12

• microcephaly
• restricted growth (NOT LIMBS)
• altered brain development

Question 13

what are longterm impairments caused by zika

Answer 13

• motor impairments
• epilepsy
• microcephaly maintained

Question 13

what is severity of microcephaly associated with

Answer 13

-cognition, language, motor function, seizure severity
- poor scores on tests

Question 14

is covid 19 a tetraogen

Answer 14

• we do not know
• small study showed that there is no evidence (done through c section) but a baby not part of the study did get covid, unsure how
• no knowledge of risk through vaginal delivery