Edexcel GCSE Biology key terms

Thyroid-stimulating hormone, which is released by the pituitary gland and stimulates the thyroid gland to produce thyroxine.

A bacterial disease that damages the lungs.

A group of cells produced by uncontrolled cell division.

A characteristic molecule on or in a cancer cell that can be used as a target for diagnosis or treatment.

A condition in which the immune system destroys the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas, so the body produces little or no insulin.

A long-term condition in which insulin resistance, followed by an inadequate insulin supply, causes blood glucose concentration to become too high.

Effectiveness during ordinary use, including mistakes such as missed pills or condoms slipping.

A break or sore in the lining of an organ, such as the stomach.

The pressure-driven filtering of small substances from blood in the glomerulus into Bowman’s capsule.

The detailed structure of a cell that can be revealed using high-resolution microscopy.

A cell that has not yet developed the adaptations needed for a particular function.

A nitrogen-containing waste substance made in the liver when excess amino acids are broken down.

One of two tubes that carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder.

The tube that carries urine from the bladder to outside the body.

The organs and tubes that produce, carry, store and release urine.

The inner lining of the uterus, which thickens in preparation for the implantation of an embryo.

The administration of a vaccine to stimulate immunity against a pathogen.

A preparation containing harmless pathogen material or its antigens that stimulates an immune response without causing the disease it is intended to prevent.

The proportion of a population that receives a vaccine.

A fluid-filled space in a plant cell that contains cell sap and helps keep the cell rigid.

A structure that prevents blood flowing backwards, keeping it moving in one direction.

Differences in characteristics between individuals of the same species.

Narrowing of the arterioles supplying skin capillaries, reducing blood flow near the skin surface and heat loss.

Widening of the arterioles supplying skin capillaries, increasing blood flow near the skin surface and heat loss.

A DNA carrier used to move a gene into a host cell.

A blood vessel that carries blood towards the heart.

One of the two lower heart chambers that pumps blood out of the heart.