Health: The Ultimate Treasure

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards based on the Grade 8 Science lecture on health, covering definitions, diseases, immunity, and historical scientific figures in medicine.

Health

A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease, as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Dinacharya

The daily routine followed in Ayurveda to help maintain a balance of body, mind, and surroundings.

Ritucharya

The seasonal routine followed in Ayurveda to maintain health balance throughout the year.

Prakriti

An individual's body constitution in Ayurveda; eating wholesome food suited to this is considered essential for well-being.

Air Quality Index (AQI)

A measure used to determine how clean the air is, helping to identify risks from pollution such as asthma or coughing.

Symptom

What a person feels when unwell, such as pain, tiredness, or dizziness.

Sign

An indication of illness that can be seen or measured by others, such as fever, rash, high blood pressure, or swelling.

Pathogen

Disease-causing organisms including bacteria, viruses, fungi, worms, and protozoa.

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs)

Diseases like cancer, diabetes, or asthma that are not caused by pathogens, do not spread between people, and are linked to lifestyle, diet, or environment.

Communicable diseases

Diseases caused by pathogens that can spread from one person to another through air, water, food, vectors, or direct contact.

Vector

Insects, such as mosquitos and houseflies, that spread pathogens from an infected person to a healthy person.

Chronic diseases

Diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and asthma that persist for a long time, typically more than 3 months.

Deficiency diseases

Non-communicable diseases caused by a lack of specific nutrients in the diet, such as scurvy, anaemia, and goitre.

Immunity

The natural ability of the body to fight against diseases through a special system called the immune system.

Acquired immunity

Protection developed by the body after being exposed to a pathogen or receiving a vaccine.

Vaccine

A preventive substance made from weakened, dead, or harmless parts of a pathogen that trains the immune system to recognize and attack harmful germs.

Variolation

A traditional Indian method of protecting against smallpox by using material from a smallpox sore to scratch the skin and create a mild infection.

Teekedaars

The people in traditional India who performed the practice of variolation to build immunity against smallpox.

Edward Jenner

The English doctor who discovered in the late 1700s that cowpox infection provided resistance to smallpox, leading to the first vaccine.

Antibiotics

Medicines that kill bacteria by targeting parts of bacterial cells that are different from animal cells; they do not work against viruses or protozoa.

Antibiotic resistance

A phenomenon where bacteria that were previously killed by an antibiotic survive and multiply despite treatment, often caused by indiscriminate or incomplete use.

Alexander Fleming

The bacteriologist who discovered Penicillin, the first antibiotic, in 1928 after noticing mould on a petri dish killed surrounding bacteria.

Kamal Ranadive

A pioneering biomedical researcher who studied the links between hormones, viruses, and cancer, and how tobacco and pollution raise cancer risk.

Maharaj Kishan Bhan

An Indian scientist and doctor who played a key role in developing the Rotavirus vaccine to protect children from diarrhoea.

Malaria

A disease transmitted by mosquitos and caused by Protozoa, characterized by high fever, profuse sweating, and periodic chills.

Dengue fever

Also known as Break bone fever, it is a viral disease transmitted by mosquitos characterized by fever, headache, and muscle and joint pain.

Tuberculosis (TB)

A bacterial infection of the lungs characterized by cough, fever, fatigue, and loss of appetite.

Cholera

A bacterial disease of the intestine spread through contaminated water and food, leading to diarrhoea and dehydration.