Unit 3 MI Vocabulary

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Apoptosis

The changes that occur within a cell as it undergoes programmed cell death, which is brought about by signals that trigger the activation of a cascade of suicide proteins in the cell destined to die

Biopsy

The removal and examination of tissue, cells, or fluids from the living body

Bone Scan

A test that detects areas of increased or decreased bone metabolism; test is performed to identify abnormal processes involving the bone such as tumor, infection, or fracture.

Cancer

A malignant tumor of potentially unlimited growth that expands locally and systemically.

Cell Cycle

An ordered sequence of events in the life of a eukaryotic cell, from its origin in the division of a parent cell until its own division into two.

Computed Tomography Scan (CT or CAT Scan)

A sectional 3-dimensional view of the body constructed by computed tomography.

Diagnostic Imaging

Technologies that doctors use to look inside your body for clues about a medical condition; includes X-rays, CT scans, nuclear medicine scans, MRI scans and ultrasound.

MRI Resonance Imaging (MRI)

A noninvasive diagnostic technique that produces computerized images of internal body tissues and is based on nuclear magnetic resonance of atoms within the body induced by the application of radio waves.

Oncogenes

A gene having the potential to cause a normal cell to become cancerous.

Osteosarcoma

A cancer derived from bone or containing bone tissue.

Proto-oncogenes

A normal cellular gene corresponding to an oncogene; a gene with a potential to cause cancer but that requires some alteration to become an oncogene.

Radiology

A branch of medicine concerned with the use of radiant energy (as X-rays or ultrasound) in the diagnosis and treatment of disease.

Risk Factor

Something which increases risk or susceptibility.

Tumor Suppressor Gene

A gene whose protein products inhibit cell division, thereby preventing uncontrolled cell growth (cancer).

X-ray

To examine, treat, or photograph with X-rays

Allele

Any of the alternative forms of a gene that may occur at a given locus.

Cryosurgery

Surgery in which diseased or abnormal tissue (as a tumor or wart) is destroyed or removed by freezing (as by the use of liquid nitrogen)

Familial Cancer

Cancer that occurs in families more often than would be expected by chance. These cancers often occur at an early age, and may indicate the presence of a gene mutation that increases the risk of cancer. They may also be a sign of shared environmental or lifestyle factors.

Genetic Marker

Alteration in DNA that may indicate an increased risk of developing a specific disease or disorder

Hereditary Cancer

An inherited disorder in which affected individuals have a higher-than-normal chance of developing certain types of cancer, often before the age of 50

Marker Analysis

A genetic technique whereby the sequence of the gene is not directly analyzed, but the mutant copy (allele) of the gene is inferred through analysis of a genetic marker

Microsatellite (also known as Short Tandem Repeats - STRs)

Any numerous short segments of DNA that are distributed throughout the genome, that consist of repeated sequences of usually two to five nucleotides, and that are often useful markers in studies of genetic linkage because they tend to vary from one individual to another

Melanoma

A tumor of high malignancy that starts in melanocytes of normal skin or moles and metastasizes rapidly and widely

Model System

An organism chosen to study broad biological principles

Screening

To test or examine for the presence of something (as a disease)

Sporadic Cancer

Cancer occurring occasionally, singly, or in scattered instances

Virologist

A specialist in virology, the branch of science that deals with viruses

Biofeedback

The technique of making unconscious or involuntary bodily processes (as heartbeat or brain waves) perceptible to the senses in order to manipulate them by conscious mental control

Chemotherapy

The use of chemical agents in the treatment or control of disease or mental disorder

Metastasis

The spread of a disease-producing agency (such as cancer cells or bacteria) from the initial or primary site of disease to another part of the body

Myoelectric

Utilizing electricity generated by muscle

Occupational Therapy

Therapy based on engagement in meaningful activities of daily life (as self-care skills, education, work, or social interaction) especially to enable or encourage participation in such activities despite impairments or limitations in physical or mental functioning

Physical Therapy

The treatment of disease by physical and mechanical means (as massage, regulated exercise, water, light, heat, and electricity)

Prosthesis

An artificial device to replace or augment a missing or impaired part of the body

Clinical Trial

A scientifically controlled study of the safety and effectiveness of a therapeutic agent (as a drug or vaccine) using consenting human subjects

Controlled Study

Clinical trial in which the subjects are distributed into groups which are either subjected to the experimental procedure (as use of a drug) or which serve as controls

Double Blind Study

An experimental procedure in which neither the subjects nor the experimenters know which subjects are in the test and control groups during the actual course of the experiments

Nanomedicine

Area of biomedical research that seeks to use tools from the field of nanotechnology to improve health

Open Study

Clinical trial in which both the researchers and the patients know who receives the drug and who receives a placebo

Pharmacogenetics

The study of the interrelation of hereditary constitution and response to drugs

Placebo

An inert or innocuous substance used especially in controlled experiments testing the efficacy of another substance (as a drug)

Single Blind Study

An experimental procedure in which the experimenters but not the subjects know the makeup of the test and control groups during the actual course of the experiments

SNP

Variant DNA sequence in which the purine or pyrimidine base of a single nucleotide has been replaced by another such base (also called single nucleotide polymorphism)

DNA Microarrary

A microarray of immobilized single-stranded DNA fragments of known nucleotide sequence that is used especially in the identification and sequencing of DNA samples and in the analysis of gene expression (as in a cell or tissue).

BRCA

Either of two tumor suppressor genes (BRCA1 and BRCA2) that in mutated form tend to be associated with an increased risk of certain cancers and especially breast and ovarian cancers