Biology key terms

An ovarian hormone that helps rebuild and maintain the uterus lining, inhibits FSH and, at a high level, stimulates LH release.

A trial in which everyone involved knows which treatment each participant receives.

An infection that takes advantage of a weakened immune system and would normally be controlled more effectively.

The nerve that carries electrical impulses from the eye to the brain.

The condition or value at which an organism or process performs best.

The range of conditions in which a cell, enzyme or life process works most effectively.

The dose that gives the best balance between producing the intended effect and limiting harmful side effects.

The temperature at which an enzyme-controlled process has its maximum rate.

Spread of a pathogen when it enters another person's body through the mouth.

A tenfold difference in size or quantity; two orders of magnitude represent a factor of $10^2=100$.

An aggregation of different tissues working together to perform a specific function.

A specialised structure within a cell that carries out a particular function.

A carbon-based molecule, such as glucose, a fat or a protein, that can form living tissue or act as a fuel.

A single living thing.

A group of organs working together to perform one or more major functions in an organism.

The surgical replacement of a failed or damaged organ with a functioning organ from a donor.

A cell that detects changes in the concentration of body fluids.

The regulation of water and dissolved ion levels in body fluids.

The diffusion of water from a dilute solution to a concentrated solution through a partially permeable membrane.

A change in the balance of water and dissolved substances, such as salts, in body fluids.

A value that lies noticeably away from the overall pattern of the other data points.

A female reproductive organ that produces eggs and oestrogen.

Catching fish faster than their population can replace them through reproduction.

The release of an egg from an ovary.

A reaction in which a substance combines with oxygen or loses electrons; glucose is completely oxidised in aerobic respiration but incompletely oxidised in anaerobic respiration.

Blood containing a relatively high concentration of oxygen after gas exchange in the lungs.

The amount of extra oxygen the body needs after exercise to react with accumulated lactic acid and remove it from cells.