The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Practice Flashcards

A collection of flashcards identifying key family members, medical professionals, and vocabulary terms from the lecture notes on 'The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks'.

Henrietta

The woman whose cervical cancer cells were taken without her knowledge and became the immortal HeLa cell line. She tried to hide her illness as not to worry her family.

David “Day”

Henrietta’s Husband and cousin. they grew up together on their grandpas (Tommy Lacks) farm. He blames Hopkins for Henrietta’s death. He also fears going to the doctor because he believes they will do research on him too.

Dr. Gey

The medical professional at Johns Hopkins who successfully cultured the first immortal human cell line, HeLa. He never sold the cells, but still gave them away without consent from the family

Rebecca Skloot

The author and narrator of the book. She befriends the family and strives to find a way to share Henrietta’s story without hurting the family further

Dr. TeLinde

A researcher and surgeon at Johns Hopkins who was a top expert on cervical cancer during Henrietta's time. He wanted to prove that non invasive cervical cancer could become invasive.

Michael Rogers

A reporter who wrote a significant article about the Lacks family and Henrietta's cells. He was the first one to alert the, about Henritetta’s cells being used in science and that people were profiting off of them.

Deborah

Henrietta’s youngest daughter and child who spent much of her life trying to learn about her mother and the cells taken from her.

Alexis Carrel

A Nobel Prize-winning scientist who claimed to have grown an immortal chicken heart, creating public interest in cell immortality.

Howard Jones

The gynecologist at Johns Hopkins who examined Henrietta and discovered her tumor. He also helped write the first article that includes Henrietts’s full name

Zakariyya

One of Henrietta's sons, originally named Joe Lacks, who struggled with the legacy of his mother's cells. He was abused by Ethel and murdered Ivy. He went to jail for it and got a reduced sentence out of psychological trauma.

Roland Patillo

A colleague of George Gey who organized the first HeLa Cancer Control Symposium and helped the author connect with the Lacks family. He worked as the professor of gynecology at morehouse medical college when he put Skloot in contact with the family. He also genuinely cares for the family.

Sir Lord Keenan Kester Cofield

A man who attempted to scam the Lacks family by posing as a lawyer and researcher. He attempts to sue Hopkins and the Lacks’s for refusing to give him access to Henrietta’s medical records. He caused stress for the entire family.

Elsie

Henrietta's daughter who was institutionalized at Crownsville State Hospital and died young. She was deaf, mute, and epileptic. She had a special bond with henrietta and henrietta visited her weekly until she got too sick.

Dr. Chester Southam & assistants

Medical professionals noted for unethically injecting HeLa cells into patients without their informed consent to test for cancer immunity.

John Moore

A patient who unsuccessfully sued his doctor, David Golde, for using his cells to create a profitable cell line (Mo).

Tommy

A member of the Lacks family mentioned in the notes.

Stanley Gartler

The scientist who revealed the "HeLa bomb," discovering that HeLa cells had contaminated numerous other cell lines. He did this by discovering a genetic marker exclusive to african americans in almost all cell culture lines.

Lawrence

Henrietta’s eldest son who took on a paternal role for his siblings after her death. He is the only one with memories of Henrietta. He is furious over what happened to his mother and tries to talk Deborah out of speaking to anyone about Hela.

Dr. David Golde

The researcher involved in the John Moore case regarding the commercialization of human biological materials.

Bobbette

Lawrence's wife who looked after Henrietta's children and was the first to realize Henrietta's cells were still alive. She takes Sonny, Deborah, and Joe in after finding out they were being abused. She demands Deborah stay in school. Bobette doesm’t trust white medicine because of its history of experimenting on black people.

Susan Hsu

The postdoctoral student sent by Victor McKusick to collect blood samples from the Lacks family for genetic research. Because English was her second language, she fails to communicate properly with the family, leading to miscommunication and confusion.

Hector “Cootie” Henry

Henrietta’s cousin who suffered from polio and shared stories about Henrietta's life. He is also very religious and believes that Henrietta’s sickness wasn’t natural, but created by spirits or white doctors

Christoph Lengauer

A researcher at Johns Hopkins who invited the Lacks family to the lab to see Henrietta's cells and chromosomes. Unlike others, he approaches the Lack’s with compassion and respect, and admits Hopkins wrong doing.

Gary

Henrietta’s nephew and a member of the Lacks family. He is deeply religious and used that belief to perform a sound cleansing ceremony to relieve deborah of the burden of the cells

Sadie

Henrietta’s cousin and good firiend who used to go dancing with her. Sadie is one of the first to find out about Henrietta’s tumor.

Harald zur Hausen

The scientist who discovered that HPV caused cervical cancer, a discovery made using HeLa cells.

Courtney Speed

A business owner in Turner Station who wanted to establish a museum to honor Henrietta.

Sonny “David Jr.”

One of Henrietta’s sons who helped share the family's story. He is the peacemaker and the first to meet with Skloot.

Margaret Gey

Dr. Gey’s wife who pioneers sterilization techniques, She often writes and submits Gey’s work

Mary Kubicek

Dr. Gey’s assistant who cultured Henrietta’s cells. When she assisted on henrietta’s autopsy, she realizes the cells she cultures are from real people like her.

Telomere

A vocabulary term referring to the protective end caps of chromosomes.

DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid; the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms.

Cells

The basic structural and functional units of all living organisms.

Sickle cell anemia

A genetic blood disorder mentioned in the vocabulary review sheet.

Syphilis

A bacterial infection mentioned in the context of historical medical studies and access to care.

Malignant

Refers to a tumor or growth that is cancerous and can invade nearby tissue.

Tumor

An abnormal growth of body tissue, which can be benign or malignant.

Cervical cancer

The specific type of cancer that Henrietta Lacks was diagnosed with.

Biopsy

The removal of a small piece of tissue for laboratory examination and diagnosis.

Pap smear

A screening test used to detect potentially precancerous and cancerous processes in the cervix.

Pathology

The study of the causes and effects of diseases, especially the branch of medicine that examines samples for diagnostic purposes.

Virology

The branch of science that deals with the study of viruses.

Gangrene

The death of body tissue due to either a lack of blood flow or a serious bacterial infection.

Chromosome

A structure made of DNA and proteins that contains genetic information.

Radiation

The form of treatment Henrietta received at Johns Hopkins, involving the use of radium tubes.

Iron Lung

A large tank used to help individuals breathe, commonly used during the polio epidemic.

Epilepsy

A neurological disorder characterized by recurrent seizures, listed in the vocabulary review.