Respiration - Key terms



AEROBIC:

Oxygen-breathing.

ANAEROBIC:

Non-oxygen-breathing.

ATP:

Adenosine triphosphate, an energy carrier formed when a simpler compound, adenosine diphosphate (ADP), combines with a phosphate group.

CAPILLARY:

A very small blood vessel. Capillaries form networks throughout the body.

CARBOHYDRATES:

Naturally occurring compounds, consisting of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, whose primary function in the body is to supply energy. Included in the carbohydrate group aresugars, starches, cellulose, and various other substances. Most carbohydrates are produced by green plants in the process of undergoing photosynthesis.

CELLULAR RESPIRATION:

A process that, when it takes place in the presence of oxygen, involves the intake of organic substances, which are broken down into carbon dioxide and water, with the release of considerable energy.

CIRCULATORY SYSTEM:

The parts of the body that work together to move blood and lymph. They include the heart, blood vessels, blood, and the lymphatic glands, such as the lymph nodes.

COMPOUND:

A substance in which atoms of more than one element are bonded chemically to one another.

FERMENTATION:

A process, involvingenzymes, in which a compound rich in energy is broken down into simpler substances.

GLUCOSE:

A monosaccharide (sugar) that occurs widely in nature and which is the form in which animals usually receive carbohydrates. Also known as dextrose, grape sugar, and corn sugar.

HEMOGLOBIN:

An iron-containing protein in human red blood cells that is responsible for transporting oxygen to the tissues and removing carbon dioxide fromthem. Hemoglobin is known for its deep red color.

LYMPH:

The portion of the blood that includes white blood cells and plasma but not red blood cells.

LYMPH NODES:

Masses of tissue, at certain places in the body, that act as filters for blood.

METABOLISM:

The chemical process by which nutrients are broken down and converted into energy or are used in the construction of new tissue or other material in the body. All metabolic reactions are either catabolic or anabolic.

MONOSACCHARIDE:

The simplest type of carbohydrate. Monosaccharides, which cannot be broken down chemically into simpler carbohydrates, also are known as simple sugars.

NUTRIENT:

Materials that supply energy or the materials to form new tissue for organisms. They include proteins, carbohydrates, lipids (fats), vitamins, and minerals.

PHOSPHATE GROUP:

A group (that is, a combination of atoms from two or more elements that tend to bond with other elements or compounds in certain characteristic ways) involving a phosphate, or a chemical compound that contains oxygen bonded to phosphorus.

PHOTOSYNTHESIS:

The biological conversion of light energy (that is, electromagnetic energy) from the Sun to chemical energy in plants. In this process carbondioxide and water are converted to carbohydrates and oxygen.

RESPIRATION:

A term that can refer either to cellular respiration (see definition) or, more commonly, to the process by which an organism takes in oxygen and releases carbon dioxide. Sometimes a distinction is made between external respiration, or an exchange of gases with the external environment, and internal respiration, an exchange of gases between the body's cells and the blood.

SIMPLE SUGAR:

A monosaccharide, or simple carbohydrate.

TISSUE:

A group of cells, along with the substances that join them, that forms part of the structural materials in plants oranimals.

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