Key Concepts in Health and Disease
Types of Diseases
Diseases can be categorized in various ways:
- Infectious and Parasitic Diseases: cholera, influenza.
- Tumors: benign tumors, cancer.
- Hemic and Immune System Diseases: anemia, coagulopathy.
- Mental and Behavioral Disorders: depression, intellectual disability.
- Nervous System Diseases: meningitis, neuropathies.
- Diseases of the Sense Organs: blindness, otitis.
- Respiratory System Diseases: bronchitis, asthma.
- Digestive System Diseases: caries, appendicitis.
- Skin Diseases: dermatitis, alopecia.
- Congenital
Understanding Disease and Evolutionary Biology
Disease Concepts and Control
Re-emerging and Emerging Diseases
Re-emerging diseases: Caused by germs in an unknown state that may have been hidden for a long time and then appear suddenly, like Ebola or tuberculosis.
Emerging diseases: Mutations may occur. Includes past illnesses that remain with us, such as cholera, tuberculosis, dengue, malaria.
Infectious Agents
Infectious agents: Pathogenic microorganisms that cause diseases. They are those that invade our body, called the host, and reproduce within
Read MoreKey Genetic Principles: Heredity, Variation, and Technology
Mendel’s Laws of Inheritance
Gregor Mendel established fundamental principles of heredity, known as Mendel’s Laws:
- Law of Uniformity: When crossing two pure breeds (homozygous individuals with different alleles for a trait), all first filial (F1) generation descendants are genetically uniform and phenotypically identical, expressing the dominant trait if one exists.
- Law of Segregation: The two hereditary factors (alleles) for each character do not fuse but remain differentiated throughout an individual’
Essential Microbiology & Immunology Terms
Sterilization:
Destroying all microorganisms existing in any substrate.
Chemotherapeutic Agents:
Antimicrobial agents used effectively to combat infectious microbes.
Pasteurization:
Used to eliminate most microorganisms from foods.
Disinfectants:
Kill microorganisms that cause disease but do not necessarily destroy all forms (like spores).
Antiseptics:
Substances used to kill or inhibit the growth of microbes present on skin or wounds.
Selective Toxicity:
Ability to kill or inhibit disease-causing microbes
Read MoreUnderstanding Human Reproductive Processes and Health
FUNCTION.REPRO – GAMETOGENESIS: Gametes are formed in gonads.
Fertilization
: Internal joining of two gametes forms the zygote.Embryo Development
: The zygote undergoes cell division until it becomes an embryo that continues developing into a fetus.Childbirth
: The baby is born alive and fully formed.Development
: The baby grows and reaches maturity (adulthood).Changes at Sexual Maturity
– Primary Sex Characteristics:Puberty
: For people to reproduce, organs must mature (ages of 10 to 16).Sex Hormones
:Human Body Structure and Organization
Levels of Human Body Organization
The human body is composed of many elements, atoms, molecules, cells, tissues, organs, and systems.
- Elements: Basic substances that make up matter.
- Atoms: The smallest units of elements that form living organisms.
- Molecules: Components from which cells build their structures.
- Cells: The basic unit of living beings.
- Tissue: A group of specialized cells associated to perform a specific function.
- Organs: Formed by different tissues working together for a specific function.