Biology key terms

The space inside a blood vessel through which blood flows.

A pituitary hormone whose surge stimulates the release of an egg from an ovary.

A type of white blood cell that can produce a particular antibody.

The bursting open of a cell, releasing the new virus particles inside it.

A viral pathway in which viral DNA is incorporated into the host cell’s DNA and copied as that cell divides, without immediately producing new virus particles.

Enzymes found in tears that break down bacteria.

A viral pathway in which new virus particles are made and released, often when the host cell bursts.

A condition in which a plant lacks enough magnesium ions to make chlorophyll.

How many times larger an image is than the real object.

An infectious disease caused by malarial protists and transmitted by mosquito vectors.

A disease-causing protist belonging to the genus Plasmodium.

Describes a cancerous tumour whose cells invade neighbouring tissues and may spread to other parts of the body.

A cancerous tumour whose cells can invade surrounding tissues and spread to other parts of the body.

Poor nutrition caused by a deficiency, excess or imbalance of energy or nutrients.

The repeated movement and reuse of substances between living organisms and the non-living environment.

A model that uses quantities, patterns in data and scientific relationships to describe or predict behaviour.

The sum of a set of values divided by the number of values.

The mean number of organisms of one species per unit area.

The average time taken for a bacterial cell in a population to divide.

A serious viral disease that causes fever and a red skin rash and is transmitted in droplets from coughs and sneezes.

A numerical reading of a quantity, recorded with a unit where one applies.

The unavoidable doubt associated with a measurement because measuring equipment and observations have limitations.

An artificial, durable valve used to replace a faulty heart valve.

A process that explains how one factor could produce an observed effect.

The middle value when data are placed in order, or the mean of the two middle values.

A substance used to prevent, control or treat disease, or to reduce its symptoms.

The region at the base of the brain that controls unconscious functions including breathing and heart rate.