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A

Abdomen (Abdominal) The lower part of your body cavity

See film: Diagnosis and Treatment

Abortion (Termination) Deliberate ending of a pregnancy

Also see: Miscarriage See film: Human Genetics, Puberty and Relationships

Achondroplasia One kind of dwarfism An inherited dominant condition

See film: Human Genetics

Addict (Addicted,Addiction) Can’t do without a drug

Also see: Alcohol, Nicotine, Opiate See film: Fit and Healthy

ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) Poor concentration and behaviour

Aerobic fitness (Stamina) A measure of the ability to keep exercising

See film: Heart Disease, Fit and Healthy

Alcohol A chemical that can be used as a drug

Also see: Alcoholic See film: Heart Disease, Fit and Healthy

Alcoholic A person who is addicted to alcohol

Also see: Addict, Alcohol See film: Fit and Healthy

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

Also see: Genes See film: Human Genetics

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 – but safer for the fetus)

Also see: CVS See film: Human Genetics

Amniotic fluid The fluid surrounding a fetus

See film: Human Genetics

Antibiotic Chemicals that kill bacteria in your body

Also see: Penicillin See film: Outbreak!, Fit and Healthy

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

Also see: Antitoxin See film: Outbreak!

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

See film: Fit and Healthy

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

See film: Fit and Healthy

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

Also see: Antibody See film: Outbreak!

Anxiety Mental state of worry about future events

Also see: Depression See film: Fit and Healthy

Artery A blood vessel that carries blood away from the heart

See film: Heart Disease, Fit and Healthy

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

See film: Heart Disease

Autosomal Describes a chromosome that is not a sex chromosome

See film: Human Genetics

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B

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

See film: Outbreak! , Fit and Healthy

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

See film: Fit and Healthy

Blood Liquid in the circulatory system

See film: Diagnosis and Treatment, Heart Disease, Human Genetics, Outbreak!, Fit and Healthy

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

See film: Diagnosis and Treatment, Heart Disease, Fit and Healthy, Outbreak!

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

See film: Diagnosis and treatment, Heart Disease

Brain An organ in the nervous system

See film: Human Genetics, Fit and Healthy

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

See film: Human Genetics

Breathing Taking air in and out of the lungs

See film: Human Genetics, Outbreak!, Fit and Healthy

British Heart Foundation Charity. See bhf.org.uk

See film: Heart Disease

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Calcium Mineral needed for making bones, and in blood

See film: Fit and Healthy

Cancer A disorder in which cells grow out of control

See film: Diagnosis and Treatment, Human Genetics, Fit and Healthy

Capillary Narrow blood vessel with walls only one cell thick

See film: Heart Disease

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

See film: Fit and Healthy

Carbon dioxide A gas in the air made in respiration

See film: Heart Disease, Fit and Healthy

Carbon monoxide A poisonous gas

See film: Heart Disease, Fit and Healthy

Cardiac muscle Heart muscle

See film: Heart Disease

Cardiovascular disease A disease of the heart and blood vessels

See film: Heart Disease

Cardiovascular exercise Exercise that increases your pulse and breathing rates

See film: Fit and Healthy

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

Also see: Allele See film: Human Genetics

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

See film: Heart Disease, Outbreak!

Cell The building block of plants and animals

See film: Fit and Healthy

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

See film: Human Genetics, Fit and Healthy

Characteristic A special features of an organism

See film: Human Genetics

Chemotherapy Using toxic chemicals to treat a patient

See film: Diagnosis and Treatment

Cholesterol Fat or lipid that your body needs – but too much causes problems

Also see: HDL cholesterol LDL cholesterol See film: Heart Disease

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)

Also see: Amniocentesis See film: Heart Disease, Human Genetics

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

See film: Human Genetics

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

See film: Fit and Healthy

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

See film: Heart Disease, Fit and Healthy, Outbreak!

Clone Group of genetically identical living things

See film: Human Genetics

Contraceptive A device or a drug to prevent pregnancy

See film: Puberty and Relationships

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

See film: Heart Disease, Fit and Healthy

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

See film: Diagnosis and Treatment, Outbreak!

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

See film: Heart Disease

Coronary artery Artery that takes blood to the heart muscle

See film: Heart Disease

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

See film: Heart Disease

Coronary vein Vein that takes blood away from the heart muscle

See film: Heart Disease

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

See film: Heart Disease

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)

Also see: Amniocentesis

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

Also see: Allele See film: Human Genetics

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Deoxygenated blood Blood that has given up oxygen in the tissues

See film: Heart Disease, Fit and Healthy

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

See film: Fit and Healthy

Depression A mental state of feeling hopeless and worthless

See film: Human Genetics, Fit and Healthy

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

See film: Human Genetics

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

See film: Heart Disease

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

See film: Human Genetics, Diagnosis and Treatment, Outbreak!

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

See film: Human Genetics

Disease (Disorder) When some part of a plant or animal isn’t working properly

See film: Diagnosis and Treatment, Heart Disease, Human Genetics, Outbreak!, Fit and Healthy

DNA The chemical that genes and chromosomes are made of

See film: Human Genetics

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

See film: Human Genetics

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

See film: Human Genetics

Down’s syndrome A disorder caused by an extra chromosome

See film: Human Genetics

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

See film: Diagnosis and Treatment, Heart Disease, Outbreak!, Fit and Healthy

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

See film: Human Genetics

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

See film: Human Genetics

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

See film: Human Genetics

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

See film: Human Genetics, Outbreak!

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

See film: Human Genetics

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

See film: Fit and Healthy

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

See film: Human Genetics

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

See film: Heart Disease, Fit and Healthy

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

See film: Human Genetics

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

See film: Human Genetics

Fit Able to exercise without getting tired

See film: Fit and Healthy

Flexibility training Stretching exercises to improve flexibility or suppleness

See film: Fit and Healthy

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

See film: Human Genetics, Puberty and Relationships

Gene cloning Making copies of genes

See film: Human Genetics

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

See film: Diagnosis and Treatment, Heart Disease

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

Also see: DNA See film: Heart Disease, Human Genetics

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

See film: Human Genetics

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

Also see: Allele See film: Human Genetics

Genetic To do with genes

Also see: Genes See film: Human Genetics

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

See film: Human Genetics

Geneticist Specialist in inheritance patterns and inherited disorders

See film: Human Genetics

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

See film: Human Genetics

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

See film: Human Genetics

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

See film: Human Genetics

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H

Haemoglobin Chemical in red blood cells that carries oxygen

See film: Diagnosis and Treatment, Human Genetics

Haemophilia A sex-linked inherited disorder in which blood doesn’t clot properly

See film: Human Genetics

Hallucinogen Drug that makes you sense (see, hear) things that aren’t there

See film: Fit and Healthy

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

See film: Heart Disease

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

See film: Outbreak!

Healthy Free from disease and pain

See film: Fit and Healthy

Heart An organ which pumps blood

See film: Heart Disease, Fit and Healthy

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

See film: Heart Disease, Fit and Healthy

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

See film: Puberty and Relationships

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) Interprets the law on reproductive technology, e.g. PGD

See film: Human Genetics

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

See film: Human Genetics

Human genome project Project to map the human genome

See film: Human Genetics

Huntington’s disease An inherited disorder of the nervous system caused by a dominant allele

Also see: Allele See film: Human Genetics

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Immunity When your body stops you catching a particular infection

See film: Outbreak!

Implantation The settling of an embryo in the lining of the uterus (womb)

See film: Human Genetics, Puberty and Relationships

Infection When microorganisms get into your body and cause a disease

See film: Diagnosis and Treatment, Outbreak!

Inherit (Inheritance) Passing on of genes from parents

Also see: Genes See film: Human Genetics

Inherited characteristic Feature that is inherited, or passed on, from parents

See film: Human Genetics

In-vitro fertilisation (IVF) Fertilisation of eggs outside the body (to produce so-called test tube babies)

See film: Human Genetics

Iron Mineral needed for making the haemoglobin in red blood cells

See film: Fit and Healthy

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Lactic acid A chemical produced in anaerobic respiration in muscles

See film: Fit and Healthy

LDL cholesterol A fat in the body, sometimes called bad cholesterol because too much in the blood increases the risk of heart disease

See film: Heart Disease

Lifestyle Way of life in terms of diet, exercise, smoking etc.

See film: Heart Disease, Human Genetics, Fit and Healthy

Lungs Organs for gas exchange between the air and the blood

See film: Heart Disease, Human Genetics, Fit and Healthy, Outbreak!

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