Vocabulary Definitions
Lesson 1: Biomedical Engineering: Introduction
Vocabulary
- Biomedical engineering - (BME) is the application of
engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and
biology for healthcare purposes (e.g. diagnostic or therapeutic). -
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Biomechanics - Biomechanics is the study of the structure and
function of biological systems by means of the methods of
“mechanics” (the branch of physics involving analysis of the actions
of forces).
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Tissue engineering - Tissue engineering evolved from the
field of biomaterials development and refers to the practice of
combining scaffolds, cells, and biologically active molecules into
functional tissues .
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Genetic engineering - the group of applied techniques of genetics and
biotechnology used to cut up and join together genetic material and
especially DNA from one or more species of organism and to introduce
the result into an organism in order to change one or more of its
characteristics.
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Neural engineering - Neural engineering (also known as
neuroengineering) is a discipline within biomedical
engineering that uses engineering techniques to
understand, repair, replace, enhance, or otherwise exploit the
properties of neural systems.
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Pharmaceutical engineering - Pharmaceutical engineering is a
branch of pharmaceutical science and technology that involves
development and manufacturing of products, processes, and components
in the pharmaceuticals industry (i.e. drugs & biologics).
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Medical device - A medical device is an instrument,
apparatus, implant, in vitro reagent, or similar or related article
that is used to diagnose, prevent, or treat disease or other
conditions, and does not achieve its purposes through chemical action
within or on the body (which would make it a drug).
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Medical imaging - Medical imaging is the technique and
process of creating visual representations of the interior of a body
for clinical analysis and medical intervention.
Medical imaging seeks to reveal internal structures hidden by
the skin and bones, as well as to diagnose and treat disease.
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Clinical engineering - Clinical engineering is a speciality
within biomedical engineering responsible primarily for
applying and implementing medical technology to optimize healthcare
delivery.
Lesson 2: Anatomy and Osteology
Vocabulary
- Anatomy - a branch of morphology that deals with the structure of
organisms .
- Osteology - a branch of anatomy dealing with the bones.
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Skeletal system - includes all of the bones and joints in the body.
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Endocrine system - The endocrine system is the collection of
glands that produce hormones that regulate metabolism, growth and
development, tissue function, sexual function, reproduction, sleep,
and mood, among other things.
-
Muscular system - The muscular system is an organ
system consisting of skeletal, smooth and cardiac
muscles . It permits movement of the body, maintains posture,
and circulates blood throughout the body.
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Cardiovascular system - The circulatory system , also called
the cardiovascular system , is an organ system that
permits blood to circulate and transport nutrients (such as amino
acids
and electrolytes), oxygen, carbon dioxide, hormones, and blood cells to
and from cells in the body.
- Integumentary system - The integumentary system is the organ
system that protects the body from various kinds of damage,
such as loss of water or abrasion from outside. The system
comprises the skin and its appendages (including hair, scales,
feathers, hooves, and nails).
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Nervous system - the network of nerve cells and fibers that transmits
nerve impulses between parts of the body.
Lesson 3-4: Eukaryopolis
Vocabulary
- Organism - an individual living thing
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Single-celled organism - an organism consisting of one cell.
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Multicellular organism - an organism consisting of multiple cells.
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Cell - a small usually microscopic mass of protoplasm bounded
externally by a semipermeable membrane, usually including one or more
nuclei and various other organelles with their products, capable alone
or interacting with other cells of performing all the fundamental
functions of life, and forming the smallest structural unit of living
matter capable of functioning independently.
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Eukaryotic (animal cell) - A eukaryote is any organism whose cells
contain a nucleus and other organelles enclosed within membranes.
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Organelle - a specialized cellular part (as a mitochondrion, lysosome,
or ribosome) that is analogous to an organ
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Mitochondria - any of various round or long cellular organelles of
most eukaryotes that are found outside the nucleus, produce energy for
the cell through cellular respiration, and are rich in fats, proteins,
and enzymes.
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Ribosomes - any of the RNA-rich cytoplasmic granules that are sites of
protein synthesis.
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Cytoplasm - the organized complex of inorganic and organic substances
external to the nuclear membrane of a cell and including the cytosol
and membrane-bound organelles (as mitochondria or chloroplasts).
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Endoplasmic Reticulum - a system of interconnected vesicular and
lamellar cytoplasmic membranes that functions especially in the
transport of materials within the cell and that is studded with
ribosomes in some places.
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Golgi Apparatus - a cytoplasmic organelle that consists of a stack of
smooth membranous saccules and associated vesicles and that is active in the modification
and transport of proteins
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Lysosome - a saclike cellular organelle that contains various
hydrolytic enzymes
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DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) - a substance that carries genetic
information in the cells of plants and animals
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RNA - Ribonucleic acid (RNA ) is a polymeric molecule
implicated in various biological roles in coding, decoding,
regulation, and expression of genes. RNA and DNA are nucleic
acids, and, along with proteins and carbohydrates, constitute the
three major macromolecules essential for all known forms of life.
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RNA transcription - Transcription is the first step of gene
expression, in which a particular segment of DNA is copied into
RNA (mRNA) by the enzyme RNA polymerase.
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Centrosomes - an organelle that is the main place where cell
microtubules get organized. They occur only in animal cells. Also, it
regulates the cell division cycle, the stages which lead up to cell
division.
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Nucleus - the central and most important part of an object, movement,
or group, forming the basis for its activity and growth.
Lesson 5: Engineered Life
Vocabulary
- Gene - A gene, made up of DNA, is the basic physical and
functional unit of heredity.
-
Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) - a molecule that carries most of the
genetic instructions used in the development, functioning and
reproduction of all known living organisms and many viruses
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Nucleotides - organic molecules that serve as the monomers, or
subunits, of nucleic acids like DNA and RNA. The building blocks of
nucleic acids, nucleotides are composed of a nitrogenous
base, a five-carbon sugar (ribose or deoxyribose), and at least one
phosphate group.
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Double helix - the shape of a DNA strand.
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Bonds - the bridges of the helix, made up of sugar and phosphate
molecules.
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Nitrogenous Bases - nitrogen-containing molecules that form the
building blocks of DNA and RNA: adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine
and uracil
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Nutrition - the science that interprets the interaction of nutrients
and other substances in food.
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Nutrigenomics - a branch of nutritional genomics and is the study of
the effects of foods and food constituents on gene expression.
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Replication - DNA replication is the process of producing two
identical replicas from one original DNA molecule.
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Transcription - a particular segment of DNA is copied into
RNA (mRNA) by the enzyme RNA polymerase
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RNA - Ribonucleic acid (RNA ) is a polymeric molecule
implicated in various biological roles in coding, decoding,
regulation, and expression of genes. RNA and DNA are nucleic
acids, and, along with proteins and carbohydrates, constitute the
three major macromolecules essential for all known forms of life.
-
Mitosis - a part of the cell cycle in which chromosomes in a cell
nucleus are separated into two identical sets of chromosomes, and each
set ends up in its own nucleus.
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Meiosis - a type of cell division that results in four daughter cells
each with half the number of chromosomes of the parent cell, as in the
production of gametes and plant spores.
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Autosomal DNA - Describes the chromosomes that are not allosomes, or
sex chromosomes. Humans have 22 pairs of autosomes and one pair of
allosomes (the X chromosome and the Y chromosome).
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Dominant and recessive traits - A dominant trait is one that will
appear in the offspring if one of the parents contributes it.
Recessive traits require two copies to appear.
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Inheritance/heredity - Passed from parents to offspring, DNA contains
the specific instructions that make each type of living creature
unique.
-
Chromosomes - thread-like structures located inside the nucleus of
animal and plant cells. Each chromosome is made of protein
and a single molecule of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and is passed
from parents to offspring.
Lesson 6: Genetic Engineering
Vocabulary
- Genetic engineering - the modification of an organism’s
genetic composition by artificial means, often involving the
transfer of specific traits, or genes , from one organism into
a plant or animal of an entirely different species
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Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) - living organisms whose genetic
material has been artificially manipulated in a laboratory through
genetic engineering, or GE
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Cross-breeding - hybridization of one organism (a breed, species, or
variety) with another through breeding.
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Biotechnology - the use of living systems and organisms to develop or
make products.
Lesson 7: Stem Cells
Vocabulary
- Multicellular organism - is composed of many specialized
cells.
-
Specialized cell - Specialized cells differ in structure
(size, shape…) and function (the role they perform in the organism).
The structural modifications that occur in a specialized cell
equip it to do its job in the organism.
-
Stem cell - an undifferentiated cell of a multicellular organism that
is capable of giving rise to indefinitely more cells of the same type,
and from which certain other kinds of cell arise by differentiation.
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Adult stem cell - can only become certain kinds of specialized cells
unless specially treated
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Embryonic stem cell - can become any kind of specialized cell
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Somatic cell - any cell of the body except sperm and egg
cells
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Bioengineering - another term for biomedical engineering
Lesson 8: Laboratory Field Trip Vocabulary (for
example)
- Microscope
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Pipettes
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Flask
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Test tubes
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Beaker
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Petri dish
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Burette
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Colorimeter
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Centrifuge
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Gel electrophoresis apparatus
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Chromatograph
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Biomedical electronics
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Clinical engineering
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Medical imaging
Lesson 9: Digital Hearts and Minds: 3D Printing
Vocabulary
- 3D printing - a process of making three dimensional solid objects from
a digital file.
-
3D modeling - the process of developing a mathematical representation
of any three- dimensional surface of an object (either
inanimate or living) via specialized software.
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Additive manufacturing - the formal term for 3D printing.
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Computer Aided Design (CAD) - the use of computer programs to create
two- or three- dimensional (2D or 3D) graphical representations of
physical objects.
Lesson 10-11: Prosthetics, Bionics, and Biomimicry
Vocabulary
-
Bionics - the application of biological methods and systems found in
nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern
technology.
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Movement research - the study, analysis, and animation of all forms of
movement.
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Prosthetics - an artificial body part; a prosthesis.
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Biomimicry - the design and production of materials, structures, and
systems that are modeled on biological entities and processes.
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Neural engineering - a discipline within biomedical
engineering that uses engineering techniques to
understand, repair, replace, enhance, or otherwise exploit the
properties of neural systems.
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Neuroscience - any or all of the sciences, such as neurochemistry and
experimental psychology, which deal with the structure or function of
the nervous system and brain.
Optional Lesson. Software Programming Laboratory
Vocabulary
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Computer
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Data/information
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Input
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Output
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Programming language
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Code
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Loops
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Conditionals
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Branching
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Iterative repetition
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