ageism - Answers prejudice or discrimination against a person (most commonly an older person) based
on age
primary aging - Answers gradual, inevitable process of bodily deterioration throughout the life span
secondary aging - Answers aging processes that result from disease and bodily abuse and disuse and are
often preventable
activities of daily living (ADLs) - Answers essential actives that support survival, such as eating, dressing,
bathing, and getting around the house
functional age - Answers measure of a person's ability to function effectively in his or her physical and
social environment in comparison with others of the same chronological age
gerontology - Answers study of the aged and the process of aging
geriatrics - Answers branch of medicine concerned with processes of aging and medical conditions
associated with old age
life expectancy - Answers age to which a person in a particular cohort is statistically likely to live (given
his or her current age and health status) on the basis of average longevity of a population
longevity - Answers length of an individual's life
life span - Answers the longest period that members of a species can live
senescence - Answers period of the lifespan marked by declines in physical functioning usually
associated with aging, begins at different ages for different people
genetic-programming theories - Answers theories that explain biological aging as a resulting from a
genetically determined developmental timetable
variable-rate theories - Answers theories that explain biological aging as a result of processes that vary
from person to person and are influenced by both the internal and the external environment,
sometimes called error theories
free radicals - Answers unstable, highly reactive atoms or molecules, formed during metabolism, which
can cause internal bodily damage
metabolism - Answers conversion of food and oxygen into energy
autoimmunity - Answers tendency of an aging body to mistake its own tissues for foreign invaders and
to attack and destroy them
survival curves - Answers curves, plotted on a graph, showing percentages of a population that survive
at each age level