Life Processes in Animals and Human Physiology Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering modes of nutrition, the human digestive and respiratory systems, transport/circulatory mechanisms, avian digestion, and animal respiration across different species.

Life Processes

The essential functions performed by living organisms to maintain their life and ensure their survival, including nutrition, respiration, circulation, excretion, and reproduction.

Holozoic Nutrition

A type of nutrition in which organisms take in solid or liquid food through their mouth, break it down into simple soluble molecules using enzymes, and absorb it.

Assimilation

The process of utilising absorbed nutrients to produce energy for various body functions.

Egestion

The process of elimination of undigested or waste matter from the body.

Radula

A rough tongue-like structure used by snails to scrape algal or plant material from the surfaces of rocks and leaves.

Frugivores

Animals that feed primarily on fruits, such as birds and bats.

Sanguivores

Animals that feed on blood, such as female mosquitoes and leeches.

Detritivores

Animals that feed on decaying organic matter, such as earthworms.

Mastication

The mechanical digestion process in the buccal cavity involving the crushing and chewing of food by the action of jaws, tongue, and teeth.

Peristalsis

Rhythmic contractions of the oesophagus that transport food from the pharynx down to the stomach.

Erythrocytes

Disc-shaped red blood cells containing the red pigment haemoglobin that transport oxygen and carbon dioxide, with a lifespan of about $120\text{ days}$.

Leucocytes

White blood cells larger than RBCs that defend the body against infections, categorized into granulocytes (eosinophil, basophil, neutrophil) and agranulocytes (lymphocytes, monocytes).

Thrombocytes

Blood platelets smaller than red and white blood cells that assist in blood clotting or coagulation at wounds.

Pulmonary Artery

The blood vessel that carries deoxygenated blood away from the heart to the lungs.

Pulmonary Vein

The blood vessel that carries oxygen-rich (oxygenated) blood from the lungs back to the heart.

Pulmonary Circulation

The path of blood circulation from the heart to the lungs and from the lungs back to the heart.

Systemic Circulation

The path of blood circulation from the heart to the body organs and from the body organs back to the heart.

Epiglottis

A stiff cartilaginous flap-like structure guarding the entrance of the larynx that closes the windpipe passage during swallowing.

Oxyhaemoglobin

A temporary compound formed in red blood cells when inhaled oxygen binds to haemoglobin for transport to body cells.

Cutaneous Respiration

Respiration performed through moist and slimy skin containing blood capillaries, as seen in earthworms, leeches, and submerged frogs.

Spiracles

Special air holes on the body surface of insects that connect to an internal network of tracheae for gas exchange.

Branchial Respiration

Respiration carried out through gills supported by gill arches and thread-like filaments richly supplied with blood capillaries.

Alveoli

Thin-walled air sacs in the lungs surrounded by capillaries where gaseous exchange occurs, totaling about $300\text{--}400\text{ million}$ per adult human pair.

Pleura

A double membrane enclosing the lungs that forms a fluid-filled cavity to protect the lungs and minimize friction during breathing.

Abomasum

The fourth chamber of a ruminant's stomach, referred to as the true stomach because it secretes pepsin and hydrochloric acid.

Crop

A pouch-like structure in a bird's oesophagus where food is temporarily stored and softened prior to further digestion.

Proventriculus

The first section of a bird's stomach where digestive juices, enzymes, and acids are added to break down food.

Gizzard

The second section of a bird's stomach where food is ground into smaller particles with the help of swallowed grit or stones.

External Respiration

The physical process of breathing, which involves inhaling oxygen-rich air and exhaling carbon dioxide-rich air.

Cellular Respiration

The biochemical process occurring within cells where food is broken down in the presence of oxygen to produce energy in the form of $\text{ATP}$, carbon dioxide, and water.

Aerobic Respiration

The breakdown of glucose in the presence of oxygen releasing carbon dioxide, water, and energy, represented by $C_6H_{12}O_6 + 6O_2 \rightarrow 6CO_2 + 6H_2O + \text{Energy}$.

Fermentation

The process of anaerobic respiration carried out by microorganisms such as yeast to yield ethyl alcohol, carbon dioxide, and energy from glucose.