Homeostasis Vocab
Terms
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- AIDS
- the disease that results when the HIV virus attacks the human immune system
- Allergy
- a condition in which a person’s immune system is overly sensitive to environmental substances that are normally harmless
- Antibodies
- proteins, produced by the immune system that either attacks invading pathogens or marks them for killing
- Antigen
- a molecule found on the outer surfaces of cells that the immune system recognizes either as a part of the body or an outside invader
- Bacteria
- single-celled organism without a distinct nucleus
- Biochemical Process
- a chemical process that occurs in a living thing
- Catalyst
- a substance that can speed up the rate of a chemical reaction without being changed or used up during the reaction
- Cellular Respiration
- the process in which nutrients are broken apart, releasing the chemical energy stored in them
- Chloroplast
- the green organelle that contains chlorophyll; where photosynthesis takes place
- Disease
- a condition, other than injury, that prevents the body from working as it should
- Dynamic Equilibrium
- the constant small corrections that normally occur to keep an organism’s internal environment within the limits needed for survival
- Enzyme
- proteins that speed up the rate of chemical reactions in living things
- Feedback Mechanism
- a cycle in which the output of a system either modifies or reinforces the first action taken by the system
- Fungi
- an organism that is usually multicellular, have cell walls made of chitin, and are heterotrophic
- Gas Exchange
- the process of obtaining oxygen from the environment and releasing carbon dioxide
- Glucose
- a sugar that is a major source of energy for cells
- Guard Cells
- specialized cells that control the opening and closing of the pores on the surface of a leaf
- Homeostasis
- the ability of an organism to maintain a stable internal environment even when the external environment changes
- Immune System
- The body’s primary defense against disease-causing pathogens
- Insulin
- a hormone that prompts glucose to move from the blood into the body cells, resulting in a lower glucose level in the blood
- Microbe
- any microscopic organism
- Mitochondria
- pod-shaped organelles that contain enzymes used to extract energy from nutrients
- Pancreas
- an endocrine organ that secretes insulin
- Parasite
- an organism that survives by living and feeding on other organisms
- Pathogen
- an organism that invades the body, causing disease
- pH
- a measure of whether a substance is acidic, neutral, or basic
- Photosynthesis
- the process by which some organisms are able to capture light energy and use it to make food from carbon dioxide and water
- Respiration
- the process by which the chemical bond energy stored in nutrients is released for use in cells
- Stimuli
- any change in the environment that causes an organism to react
- Synthesis
- a life process that involves combining simple substances into more complex substances
- Vaccine
- a substance made of weakened, killed, or partial pathogens and designed to protect the body from future invasions of that pathogen
- Virus
- a nonliving particle of protein and genetic material that reproduces by invading the cell of a living organism