Comprehensive TEAS and HESI Science, Reading, and English Review

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering anatomy and physiology, life and physical sciences, reading comprehension, grammar, and quick facts practice for the TEAS and HESI exams.

Trachea

A large airway tube in the respiratory system that is reinforced by rings of cartilage.

Surfactant

A liquid produced in the lungs that allows alveoli to open, reduces surface tension, and prevents alveolar collapse.

Tidal Volume

The volume of air inhaled and exhaled during normal breathing.

Residual Capacity

The volume of air trapped in the alveoli following expiration.

Cilia

Microscopic hair-like projections that keep the respiratory tract clear of mucus, bacteria, and debris.

Mycosis

Any disease caused by a fungal infection.

Emphysema

A chronic pulmonary disease characterized by damage to the alveoli, causing shortness of breath.

Tuberculosis

A contagious airborne bacterial infection caused by Mycobacterium, presenting with low-grade fever, night sweats, chest pain, and weight loss.

Cystic Fibrosis

A genetic disorder causing the accumulation of thick, sticky mucus in the lungs, pancreas, and other visceral organs.

Hemoglobin

An iron-containing protein located on red blood cells responsible for carrying oxygen.

Spleen

A lymphatic organ that filters blood as part of the body's immune and circulatory functions.

Pulmonary Loop System

The closed circulatory pathway carrying deoxygenated blood from the right ventricle to the lungs and returning oxygenated blood to the left atrium.

Systemic Loop System

The closed circulatory pathway delivering oxygenated blood from the left ventricle throughout the body tissues and returning deoxygenated blood to the right atrium.

Aneurysm

A localized abnormal dilation or weakening of an arterial wall.

Myocardial Infarction

A heart attack resulting from an obstruction of blood flow to the myocardium.

Atherosclerosis

The accumulation of plaque within arterial walls, commonly caused by hypertension, smoking, and hypercholesterolemia.

Tachycardia

An abnormally rapid heart rate.

Bradycardia

An abnormally slow resting heart rate.

Parietal Cells

Gastric gland cells located in the stomach lining that secrete hydrochloric acid.

Chyme

Partially digested, acidic food expelled by the stomach into the duodenum where it is neutralized by pancreatic secretions.

Myelin Sheath

An insulating lipid-rich layer that encloses and protects axonal nerve fibers to accelerate signal conduction.

Afferent Neurons

Sensory neurons that transmit nerve impulses inward toward the central nervous system.

Efferent Neurons

Motor neurons that carry nerve signals away from the central nervous system out to muscles and effectors.

Synapse

The specialized junction through which a neuron communicates with another neuron or target cell.

Sprain

A stretching or tearing injury occurring in a ligament.

Strain

A stretching or tearing injury occurring in a muscle or tendon.

Bulbourethral Gland

A pea-shaped male reproductive gland located beneath the prostate that contributes a lubricating protein fluid to semen.

Corpus Luteum

A temporary endocrine structure that forms in the ovary from a discharged follicle and secretes progesterone.

Endometrium

The mucosal inner lining of the uterine wall to which a fertilized ovum attaches.

Eccrine Gland

A type of sweat gland that opens directly onto the skin surface to excrete water for thermoregulatory cooling.

Apocrine Gland

A sweat gland that empties its secretions directly into a hair follicle rather than onto the skin surface.

Homeostasis

The state of maintaining a stable, constant internal environment within an organism.

Sudoriferous Gland

A skin gland that excretes sweat, minerals, and electrolytes.

Thermoregulation

The physiological process by which the body maintains its internal core temperature via mechanisms like vasodilation and vasoconstriction.

Parathyroid Gland

Endocrine glands responsible for regulating and absorbing calcium levels in the body.

Diabetes Mellitus

A metabolic disease resulting from insufficient insulin secretion by the pancreas, causing abnormally elevated blood glucose levels.

Gigantism

An endocrine disorder causing abnormal overgrowth in children, caused by a tumor in the pituitary gland.

Thymus

A specialized lymphoid organ where T lymphocytes mature.

Nephron

The microscopic structural and functional unit of the kidney responsible for filtering blood and producing urine.

Renal Medulla

The inner region of the kidney where salt and water reabsorption occurs to concentrate urine.

Renin

An enzyme and hormone released by the kidneys that modulates blood pressure by regulating sodium and water balance.

Pathogen-Associated Molecular Patterns (PAMPs)

Repetitive molecular patterns on microbial surfaces that signal innate immune cells to identify and destroy pathogens.

Phagocytosis

The cellular process wherein phagocytic cells engulf and digest large particles or microbial invaders.

Interferon

A cytokine protein produced by host cells in response to pathogens, viruses, or tumors to coordinate immune signaling.

Monocyte

The largest morphological class of white blood cell (leukocyte) in the human bloodstream.

Lysozyme

An antimicrobial enzyme that catalyzes the destruction of the cell walls of certain bacteria.

Hematopoiesis

The developmental process by which blood cells are formed in the bone marrow.

Periosteum

The fibrous dense vascular membrane that wraps around and covers the external surface of bones.

Haversian Canal

Central longitudinal microscopic channels in bone that accommodate neurovascular structures.

Volkmann Canal

Perforating vascular channels in compact bone that communicate horizontally with the central Haversian canals.

Osteoblast

A specialized bone cell responsible for synthesizing and secreting bone matrix during bone formation.

Osteoclast

A large bone cell that resorbs, breaks down, and removes bone tissue.

Synovial Fluid

A viscous, clear non-Newtonian fluid found in synovial joint cavities that cushions and lubricates articulating cartilages.

Valence Electrons

Electrons residing in the outermost electron shell of an atom that participate directly in chemical bonding.

Isotope

Atoms of the same chemical element possessing identical counts of protons and electrons but differing numbers of neutrons.

Ionic Bond

A chemical bond formed via electrostatic attraction between oppositely charged ions: a cation and an anion.

Dehydration Synthesis

An endergonic condensation reaction in which monomers are linked by covalent bonds through the removal of a water molecule.

Hydrolysis

A chemical process that cleaves covalent bonds between constituent monomers by the addition of a water molecule.

Endergonic Reaction

A non-spontaneous chemical reaction that requires an absorption of energy.

Exergonic Reaction

A chemical reaction that results in a net release of energy.

Diploid

A biological cell containing two complete homologous chromosome sets, one inherited from each parent.

Allele

A specific variant or expressed form of a gene.

Law of Segregation

Mendel's first law stating that allele pairs separate during gamete formation so that each gamete carries only one allele for each gene.

Dihybrid Inheritance

The simultaneous inheritance of two distinct genetic traits, described by Mendel's second law and yielding a phenotypic ratio of $9:3:3:1$.

Polar Covalent Bond

An asymmetric chemical bond where two atoms share electrons at unequal distances from their atomic nuclei.

Non-polar Covalent Bond

A symmetric chemical bond where two atoms share electrons at an equal distance between their respective nuclei.

Osmosis

The movement of a solvent, typically water, across a semi-permeable membrane from an area of higher water concentration to lower water concentration.

Triple Point

The thermodynamic temperature and pressure at which solid, liquid, and gas phases coexist in equilibrium.

Sublimation

The physical phase transition in which a substance converts directly from a solid into a gas without entering a liquid phase.

Deposition

The physical phase transition in which a gaseous substance converts directly into a solid without transitioning through a liquid phase.

Burette

A graduated glass tube with a stopcock used in laboratory titrations to deliver accurately measured liquid volumes.

Buffer

A chemical solution that resists substantial changes in $pH$ upon the addition of acidic or basic components.

Catalyst

A substance that speeds up the rate of a chemical reaction by lowering activation energy without itself being consumed.

Hyperbole

A literary figure of speech consisting of intentional and obvious exaggeration, such as "That movie played forever."

Onomatopoeia

A word whose phonetic pronunciation imitates the natural sound it denotes, such as "Snap!" or "Pop!"

Personification

A figurative device in which inanimate objects, animals, or abstract ideas are represented as having human traits or feelings.

Alliteration

The stylistic repetition of initial consonant sounds in consecutive or neighboring words.

Cartesian Graph

A two-dimensional coordinate visual representation consisting of a horizontal $x$-axis and a vertical $y$-axis.

Topic Sentence

A sentence placed at or near the beginning of a paragraph that conveys the overarching main idea of that paragraph.

Inference

An educated guess or logical conclusion drawn from textual clues and evidence rather than explicit statements.

Memorandum

A concise, informal written printed communication commonly utilized for internal business correspondence.

Appendix

A supplementary reference section located at the back of a book containing detailed information not included in the primary text.

Sidebar

A graphic or textual box set alongside the primary body of text to present supplementary details.

Interjection

A part of speech representing an abrupt, expressive utterance that conveys intense sudden emotion.

Contraction

A single word created by combining two words and omitting certain letters using an apostrophe.

Homophone

A word that shares identical pronunciation with another word but possesses a different spelling and meaning, such as "week" and "weak."

Conjugation

The grammatical inflection of verbs to express different tenses, aspects, persons, and numbers.

Colon

A punctuation mark ($:$) utilized to introduce lists, explanations, or major grammatical breaks.

Predicate

The portion of a grammatical clause that contains the verb and conveys information regarding what the subject is or does.

Independent Clause

A syntactic clause containing a subject and a predicate that expresses a complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence.

Constant Term

A numerical term in an algebraic expression or equation that does not contain a variable, such as $-25$ in $4x - 25 = 2b$.

Variable Term

A term in an algebraic expression or equation that includes one or more variable letters, such as $4x$ and $2b$ in $4x - 25 = 2b$.