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ultimate causation |
The hypothetical evolutionary explanation for the existence of a certain pattern of animal behavior. |
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unsaturated fatty acid |
A fatty acid possessing one or more double bonds between the carbons in the hydrocarbon tail. Such bonding reduces the number of hydrogen atoms attached to the carbon skeleton. |
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urea [Gk. ouron, urine] |
A soluble form of nitrogenous waste excreted by mammals and most adult amphibians. |
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ureter [Gk. from ourein, to urinate] |
A duct leading from the kidney to the urinary bladder. |
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urethra [Gk. from ourein, to urinate] |
A tube that releases urine from the body near the vagina in females or through the penis in males; also serves in males as the exit tube for the reproductive system. |
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uric acid [Gk. ouron, urine] |
An insoluble precipitate of nitrogenous waste excreted by land snails, insects, birds, and some reptiles. |
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urine [Gk. ouron, urine] |
The liquid waste filtered from the blood by the kidney and stored in the bladder pending elimination through the urethra. |
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urochordate |
A chordate without a backbone, commonly called a tunicate, a sessile marine animal. |
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uterus [L., womb] |
A female reproductive organ where eggs are fertilized and/or development of the young occurs. |
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V | |
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vaccine |
A harmless variant or derivative of a pathogen that stimulates a host's immune system to mount defenses against the pathogen. |
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vacuole [L. vacuus, empty] |
A membrane-enclosed sac taking up most of the interior of a mature plant cell and containing a variety of substances important in plant reproduction, growth, and development. |
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vagina |
Part of the female reproductive system between the uterus and the outside opening; the birth canal in mammals; also accommodates the male's penis and receives sperm during copulation. |
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valence shell |
The outermost energy shell of an atom, containing the valence electrons involved in the chemical reactions of that atom. |
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Van der Waals interactions |
Weak attractions between molecules or parts of molecules that are brought about by localized charge fluctuations. |
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vaporization [L. vapor, steam] |
The change from a liquid to a gas; evaporation. |
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variation |
Diversity among the members of a population. Variation among individuals can exist at many levels, including genetic, physiologic and behavioral. |
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vas deferens pl. vasa deferentia (vass deff-er-ens) [L. vas, a vessel + deferre, to carry down] |
The tube in the male reproductive system in which sperm travel from the epididymis to the urethra. |
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vascular [L. vasculum, a small vessel] |
Containing or concerning vessels that conduct fluid. |
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vascular bundle |
In plants, a group of longitudinal supporting and conducting tissues (xylem and phloem). |
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vascular cambium [L. vasculum, a small vessel + cambium, exchange] |
A continuous cylinder of meristematic cells surrounding the xylem and pith that produces secondary xylem and phloem. |
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vascular plants |
Plants with vascular tissue, consisting of all modern species except the mosses and their relatives. |
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vascular tissue |
Plant tissue consisting of cells joined into tubes that transport water and nutrients throughout the plant body. |
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vascular tissue system |
A system formed by xylem and phloem throughout the plant, serving as a transport system for water and nutrients, respectively. |
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vector [L., carrier] |
In recombinant DNA, a small, self-replicating DNA molecule, or a portion thereof, into which a DNA segment can be spliced and introduced into a cell; generally a plasmid or a virus. |
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vegetative reproduction |
Cloning of plants by asexual means. |
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vein [L. vena, a blood vessel] |
A vessel that returns blood to the heart. |
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vena cava (vee-na cah-va) [L., blood vessel + hollow] |
A large vein that brings blood from the tissues to the right atrium of the four-chambered mammalian heart. The superior vena cava collects blood from the forelimbs, head, and anterior or upper trunk; the inferior vena cava collects blood from the posterior body region. |
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ventilation |
Any method of increasing contact between the respiratory medium and the respiratory surface. |
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ventral [L. venter, belly] |
Pertaining to the undersurface of an animal that holds its body in a horizontal position; to the front surface of an animal that holds its body erect. |
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ventricle [L. ventriculus, the stomach] |
A muscular chamber of the heart that receives blood from an atrium and pumps blood out of the heart, either to the lungs or to the body tissues. |
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venule |
A very small vein. See also vein. |
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vertebral column [L. vertebra, joint] |
The backbone; in nearly all vertebrates, it forms the supporting axis of the body and protects the spinal cord. |
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vertebrate |
A chordate animal with a backbone: the mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and various classes of fishes. |
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vesicle [L. vesicula, a little bladder] |
A small, intracellular membrane-bound sac. |
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vessel element [L. vas, a vessel] |
A specialized short, wide cell in angiosperms; arranged end to end, they form continuous tubes for water transport. |
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vestigial organ |
A type of homologous structure that is rudimentary and of marginal or no use to the organism. |
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viable [L. vita, life] |
Able to live. |
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villus pl. villi [L., a tuft of hair] |
In vertebrates, one of the minute, fingerlike projections lining the small intestine that serve to increase the absorptive surface area of the intestine. |
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viroid (vy-roid) |
A plant pathogen composed of molecules of naked RNA only several hundred nucleotides long. |
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virulent |
Capable of overcoming a host's defense mechanisms and causing a disease sometimes of rapid onset and severe symptoms. |
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virus [L., slimy, liquid, poison] |
A submicroscopic, noncellular particle composed of a nucleic acid core and a protein coat (capsid); parasitic; reproduces only within a host cell. |
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viscera [L., internal organs] |
The collective term for the internal organs of an animal. |
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visceral muscle |
Smooth muscle found in the walls of the digestive tract, bladder, arteries, and other internal organs. |
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visible light |
That portion of the electromagnetic spectrum detected as various colors by the human eye, ranging in wavelength from about 400 nm to about 700 nm. |
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vitalism |
The belief that natural phenomena are governed by a life force outside the realm of physical and chemical laws. |
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vitamin [L. vita, life] |
An organic molecule required in the diet in very small amounts; vitamins serve primarily as coenzymes or parts of coenzymes. |
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viviparous (vy-vip-er-us) |
Referring to a type of development in which the young are born alive after having been nourished in the uterus by blood from the placenta. |
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voltage-gated channel |
Ion channel in a membrane that opens and closes in response to changes in membrane potential (voltage); the sodium and potassium channels of neurons are examples. |
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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
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Glossary from Biology, Fifth Edition By Campbell, Reece, Mitchell © 1998, Benjamin Cummings. Reprinted with Permission. All Rights Reserved |