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| The chemical building material for all living things and consists of inorganic substances, such as water and mineral salts, and organic substances, including proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and nucleic acids. |
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| 4 major classes: Proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and nucleic acids |
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| Amino acids are linked in various patterns and combinations. Proteins contain carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and occasionally other elements, such as sulfur. Proteins are the most elementary building blocks of cells. |
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| Compounds are composed of only carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Carbohydrates such as sugars and starches are involved in energy-releasing processes in animals and plants. |
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| Lipids, aka fats, are water-insoluble, organic macromolecules that consist only of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen; lipids store energy in the body for long periods. |
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| Very large, complex macromolecules are made up of nucleotides. |
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| The phase of mitosis during which the duplicate centromeres migrate in opposite directions along the mitotic spindle and carry the chromatids to opposite sides of the cell. |
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| Water tends to move across cell surfaces or membranes into areas in which a high concentration of potassium ions is present. |
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| A phase of mitosis during which cell division is completed with the formation of two new daughter cells, each of which contains exactly the same genetic material as the parent cell. |
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| A phase of cell division during which the mitotic spindle is completed. It is also the phase of cell division in which chromosome damage caused by radiation exposure can be evaluated. |
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| Also known as programmed cell death. A nonmitotic or nondivision form of cell death occurs when cells die without attempting division during the interphase portion of the cell life cycle. |
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| Biologic damage occurs as a result of the ionization of atoms on essential molecules, which may cause these molecules to become either inactive or functionally altered. |
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| The effect produced by free radicals that are created by the interaction of radiation with water molecules; cell death can result. |
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| Law of Beronié and Tribondeau |
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| The radiosensitivity of cells is directly proportional to their reproductive activity and inversely proportional to their degree of differentiation. |
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| Linear energy transfer (LET) |
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(Expressed in units of keV/µm)
The average of energy deposited by ionizing radiation in an object per unit length of track as it passes through the object. |
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| Changes in genes are caused by the loss or change of a nitrogenous base on the DNA chain. Usually the result of high-energy radiation with a DNA molecule. |
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| Solitary atoms. Most often a combination of atoms, that are very chemically reactive as a result of the presence of unpaired electrons. |
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| Altered areas in molecules are caused by the breaking of a single chemical bond. |
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| Concept of radiation damage resulting from discrete and random events. If a critical location on the master molecule (believed to be DNA) is a target receiving multiple hits from ionizing radiation, it may well be inactivated. Normal cell function will then cease, and the cell will die. If, on the other hand, it receives only a single hit, then the master molecule most likely will still be operational. The target theory concept may be useful for explaining cell death and nonfatal cell abnormalities caused by exposure to radiation. |
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| Electromagnetic radiation can travel and interact with matter in the form of a wave or a particle. For this reason, x-rays may be described as both waves and particles. |
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