Grade 10 Biology Vocabulary Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and definitions across human anatomy, physiology, genetics, biotechnology, disease, immunity, and evolution based on the Grade 10 Biology curriculum.

Heterotrophic nutrition

A mode of nutrition in which organisms cannot synthesize their own food and must obtain it by consuming other organisms or organic matter.

Ingestion

The process of taking in food and liquids into the body through the mouth.

Digestion

The process of breaking down large, insoluble food molecules (polymers) into smaller, soluble molecules (monomers) that can be absorbed by cell membranes.

Absorption

The movement of digested nutrient molecules from the alimentary canal into the blood or lymph circulatory system.

Assimilation

The process of taking up and using absorbed nutrients inside body cells and tissues for growth, repair, and metabolism.

Egestion

The elimination of undigested food material and waste from the body through the anus.

Alimentary canal

The continuous muscular tube starting at the mouth and ending at the anus through which food passes and is processed.

Saliva

A fluid secreted by salivary glands into the oral cavity containing water, mucus, and the digestive enzyme salivary amylase.

Bolus

A soft, rounded mass of chewed food mixed with saliva formed in the oral cavity before swallowing.

Epiglottis

A flap of elastic cartilage tissue that closes over the opening of the trachea (glottis) during swallowing to prevent food from entering the windpipe.

Peristalsis

Rhythmic, wave-like muscular contractions of the walls of the alimentary canal that push food along the digestive tract.

Cardiac sphincter

A ring of smooth muscle located at the junction of the oesophagus and stomach that prevents food from flowing back into the oesophagus.

Chyme

The acidic, soup-like mixture of partially digested food and gastric juice formed in the stomach.

Emulsification

The physical breakdown of large fat droplets into smaller droplets by bile salts to increase the surface area for lipase action.

Villi

Millions of microscopic, finger-like projections on the folded inner wall of the small intestine that increase surface area for nutrient absorption.

Lacteal

A central lymphatic vessel inside a villus that absorbs fatty acids and glycerol into the lymphatic system.

Gastric ulcer

A painful sore that develops in the protective inner lining of the stomach wall, commonly caused by Helicobacter pylori infection or long-term NSAID use.

Breathing

The physical process of moving air into and out of the lungs to facilitate gaseous exchange.

Gaseous exchange

The process by which oxygen diffuses from inhaled air in the alveoli into the blood, and carbon dioxide diffuses from the blood into the alveoli.

Larynx

A cartilaginous box-like structure containing vocal cords located between the pharynx and trachea, also known as the voice box.

Trachea

A $12\,\text{cm}$ long air tube lined with C-shaped cartilage rings that conducts air from the larynx to the bronchi; also called the windpipe.

Alveoli

Microscopic, thin-walled air sacs in the lungs surrounded by capillary networks where gaseous exchange occurs.

Diaphragm

A muscular sheet separating the thoracic and abdominal cavities that contracts and flattens to drive inhalation.

Bronchitis

Inflammation of the mucous membranes of the bronchi or bronchioles, leading to narrowed airways and excessive mucus accumulation.

Emphysema

A respiratory disorder in which the alveolar walls rupture and break down, creating fewer, larger air spaces and reducing the surface area for gas exchange.

Pneumonia

An infection causing inflammation in one or both lungs, wherein the alveoli fill with pus and fluid.

Asthma

A chronic disease characterized by sudden inflammation, swelling, and constriction of the bronchi and bronchioles triggered by allergens.

Blood plasma

The fluid portion of blood, making up about $55\%$ of blood volume, consisting of water, dissolved proteins, salts, nutrients, and waste products.

Erythrocytes

Biconcave, disc-shaped red blood cells containing haemoglobin that transport oxygen throughout the body.

Leukocytes

Nucleated white blood cells that defend the body against infections and foreign pathogens.

Thrombocytes

Small, anucleated cell fragments (platelets) present in blood that play a vital role in blood clotting.

Pericardium

A double-layered membrane enclosing the heart that secretes fluid to reduce friction during cardiac contractions.

Tricuspid valve

A three-flapped valve located between the right atrium and right ventricle that prevents the backflow of blood into the atrium.

Systole

The phase of the cardiac cycle during which the ventricles contract to pump blood into the pulmonary artery and aorta.

Diastole

The relaxation phase of the cardiac cycle during which the heart chambers fill with blood.

Atherosclerosis

A form of arteriosclerosis characterized by the build-up of fatty deposits and cholesterol plaques inside the arteries, narrowing the lumen.

Myocardial infarction

The death of heart muscle tissue resulting from a prolonged interruption of blood flow through coronary arteries; commonly known as a heart attack.

Angina pectoris

Chest pain or tightness caused by reduced blood flow and oxygen supply to the heart muscle.

Hilus

A depression on the concave inner border of the kidney through which the renal artery enters and the renal vein and ureter exit.

Renal cortex

The outer region of the internal structure of the kidney.

Renal medulla

The inner region of the kidney composed of several cone-shaped renal pyramids.

Nephron

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

Glomerulus

A network of high-pressure blood capillaries enclosed within Bowman's capsule where pressure filtration takes place.

Bowman's capsule

The cup-shaped initial portion of a renal tubule surrounding the glomerulus that receives glomerular filtrate.

Glomerular filtrate

The fluid containing water, salts, glucose, and urea filtered from the glomerulus into Bowman's capsule.

Tubular secretion

The active transport of specific waste substances from peritubular capillaries directly into the filtrate inside the renal tubule.

Osmoregulation

The physiological process of maintaining the balance of water and solute concentrations in body fluids.

Lithotripsy

A non-invasive medical procedure that uses targeted shock waves from outside the body to break kidney stones into small fragments.

Haemodialysis

A medical procedure that cleans blood outside the body by pumping it through an artificial kidney machine called a dialyzer.

Peritoneal dialysis

A dialysis method where dialysate fluid is introduced into the peritoneal cavity to absorb waste products across the peritoneal membrane.

Stimulus

Any detectable change in the internal or external environment that can initiate a nerve impulse or physiological response.

Receptor

A specialized cell, tissue, or sensory organ that detects a stimulus and transmits signals to a coordinator.

Effector

A muscle or gland that receives command signals from a coordinator and carries out a specific response.

Neuron

The fundamental nerve cell unit adapted to transmit electrical nerve impulses throughout the body.

Myelin sheath

An insulating layer formed by Schwann cells around an axon that increases the speed of nerve impulse transmission.

Nodes of Ranvier

Unmyelinated gaps along a myelinated axon where action potentials jump from node to node.

Synapse

The microscopic gap between the axon terminal of one neuron and the dendrite or cell body of another cell.

Neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers released by axon terminals that cross the synaptic gap to propagate a nerve signal.

Cerebrum

The largest part of the forebrain, divided into two hemispheres, responsible for intelligence, memory, voluntary actions, and sensory perception.

Cerebellum

The region of the hindbrain behind the medulla that coordinates muscle movements, posture, and body balance.

Medulla oblongata

The lower section of the brainstem regulating involuntary, vital autonomic processes such as breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure.

Reflex arc

The nerve pathway involved in executing an automatic, involuntary reflex action.

Endocrine glands

Ductless glands that produce and secrete hormones directly into the blood circulation.

Hormones

Chemical signaling molecules secreted into the blood by endocrine glands to regulate target organ functions.

Islets of Langerhans

Clusters of endocrine cells in the pancreas that produce and secrete insulin and glucagon.

Gametogenesis

The process of cell division (meiosis) and differentiation by which haploid gametes are formed in the gonads.

Spermatogenesis

The process of sperm production within the seminiferous tubules of the testes.

Oogenesis

The process of egg (ovum) production within the ovarian follicles of the ovaries.

Acrosome

A cap-like vesicle covering the head of a sperm containing digestive enzymes that break down the egg's outer layers during fertilization.

Testosterone

The principal male sex hormone produced by the testes that stimulates male secondary sexual characteristics and sperm production.

Oestrogen

A primary female sex hormone produced by ovaries that regulates the development of female secondary sexual characteristics and the reproductive cycle.

Progesterone

A female hormone secreted after ovulation that thickens and maintains the uterine lining for egg implantation and pregnancy.

Vas deferens

A muscular tube that conducts mature sperms from the epididymis toward the urethra.

Fallopian tubes

Muscular ducts leading from the ovaries to the uterus where fertilization of the egg cell takes place.

AIDS

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; a chronic, life-threatening condition caused by Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) that destroys immune cells.

Heredity

The transmission of genetic characteristics and traits from parents to offspring across generations.

Gene

A distinct segment of DNA on a chromosome that encodes instructions for synthesizing a specific protein.

Allele

An alternate form of a gene situated at a specific locus on homologous chromosomes.

Genotype

The specific combination of alleles possessed by an organism for a particular trait.

Phenotype

The observable physical or physiological expression of an organism's genotype.

Homozygous

A state in which an organism possesses two identical alleles for a specific gene.

Heterozygous

A state in which an organism possesses two different alleles for a specific gene.

Transcription

The process by which genetic information in a DNA segment is copied into a complementary messenger RNA (mRNA) molecule.

Translation

The process in which ribosomes decode the mRNA base sequence to synthesize a specific protein chain.

Law of Segregation

Mendel's law stating that the two alleles for a trait separate during gamete formation so that each gamete receives only one allele.

Law of Independent Assortment

Mendel's law stating that alleles of different genes segregate independently of one another during gamete formation.

Biotechnology

The application of living organisms or biological systems to produce useful materials, products, and services for human welfare.

Fermentation

An anaerobic biological process in which microorganisms like yeast or bacteria break down sugars to produce substances like ethanol or lactic acid.

Plasmids

Small, self-replicating circular double-stranded DNA loops found in bacterial cells, used as vectors in genetic engineering.

Genetic engineering

The direct manipulation and alteration of an organism's genome using biotechnology techniques.

Recombinant DNA

A artificial DNA molecule created by combining genetic material from two different biological sources.

Bioremediation

The process of using microorganisms, plants, or fungi to degrade, clean up, or neutralize environmental pollutants.

Pathogen

Any disease-causing microorganism or biological agent, such as a virus, bacterium, fungus, or parasite.

Infectious diseases

Communicable diseases caused by biological pathogens that can spread directly or indirectly between individuals.

Non-infectious diseases

Non-communicable diseases caused by genetic, environmental, lifestyle, or metabolic factors rather than pathogens.

Zoonotic diseases

Infectious diseases that are naturally transmissible from vertebrate animals to humans.

Vector

An organism (such as an insect or tick) that transmits pathogens from one infected host to another.

Allergen

A normally harmless environmental substance that provokes an abnormal, hypersensitive immune response.

Innate immunity

Non-specific immunity present in the body from birth, including physical barriers, phagocytes, protective proteins, and inflammation.

Acquired immunity

Specific immune protection developed over an individual's lifetime through natural infection or vaccination.