Physiology 101 Flashcards
(36 cards)
Energy
- The power received from electricity, fuel, food, and other sources to do work or produce motion.
- The physical or mental strength of a person that can be directed toward some activity.
Matter
Any material in the universe that has mass and size.
Chemistry
The branch of science that deals with the identification of the substances that matter is composed of, the study of their characteristics, and the ways that they interact, combine, and change.
Organism
A single living thing, such as a person, animal, or plant.
Cell
The basic unit of all living organisms.
Tissue
Body material in animals and plants that consists of large numbers of cells that are similar in form and function.
Muscle
Masses of tissues in the body, often attached to bones, that can tighten and relax to produce movement.
Skeletal Muscle
Connected to the skeleton to form part of the mechanical system that moves the limbs and other parts of the body.
Fat
- Natural oily or greasy substance found in animal bodies, especially when deposited as a layer under the skin or around certain organs.
- Substance of this type made from animal or plant products that is used in cooking.
Saturated Fat
Form of fat found in animal fat products such as cream, cheese, butter, lard, and fatty meats as well as in certain vegetable products such as coconut oil, palm kernel oil, and chocolate.
Solid at room temperature. While it has long been believed that eating foods high in saturated fat increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, more recent research has shown this to be untrue.
Unsaturated Fat
Form of fat found in foods like avocado, nuts, and vegetable oils, such as canola and olive oils. Meat products contain both saturated and unsaturated fats.
Liquid at room temperature.
Trans Fat
Unsaturated fats that are uncommon in nature and created artificially. This type of fat is found in processed foods like cereals, baked goods, fast food, ice cream, and frozen dinners. Anything that contains “partially hydrogenated oil” contains trans fat.
Nutritional authorities, including the US Food and Drug Administration, the European Food Safety Authority, and the UK Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, consider these harmful to our health and recommend reducing the consumption of them to trace amounts.
Organ
Made of a group of two or more types of tissues that work together to achieve a specific function in an organism.
Gram
A unit of weight in the metric system. One pound is about 454 grams.
Kilogram
Equal to 1,000 grams, or 2.2 pounds.
Milligram
One thousandth of a gram.
Celsius
Scale of temperature on which water freezes at 0 degrees and boils at 100 degrees.
In the Fahrenheit scale used in the United States, water freezes at 32 degrees and boils at 212 degrees.
Calorie
A measurement unit of energy potential.
When we talk about the heat output of an organism of the energy value of food, calorie refers to the energy required to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1 degree Celsius. This is also known as a kilocalorie or large calorie.
Nutrient
A substance that gives a living body something that it needs to live and grow.
Food
Material taken into the body to provide it with the nutrients it needs for energy and growth. Food is essentially fuel for the body.
Element
(also called a chemical element) is a substance that cannot be broken down into smaller parts by a chemical reaction.
There are more than 100 elements, and they are the primary building blocks of matter.
Compound
A substance made up of two or more different elements.
Molecule
The smallest particle of any compound that still exists as that substance. If you were to break it down any further, it would separate into the elements that make it up (meaning it would no longer exist as that original substance).
Acid
A chemical compound that usually eats away at materials and often tastes sour.
