Medical College Admissions Test
1. stop codon: codon that signals to ribosomes to stop translation (last exon in a
series of exons)
2. partial coding sequence: portion of DNA/RNA that codes for protein (subset of
a exon)
3. splice acceptor site: Located at the 3' end of the intron, terminates the intron
with an AG sequence (exon/intron border)
4. splice donor site: 5' end of intron (exon/intron border)
5. promoter: region of DNA that indicates to an enzyme where to bind to make RNA
6. signal sequence: the sequence mature RNA sequence within a protein that
directs the protein to a particular organelle
7. nuclear localization signal: the signal sequence for the nucleus that enables
proteins to move through pores in the nuclear envelope
8. glycolysis: first step in releasing the energy of glucose, in which a molecule of
glucose is broken into two molecules of pyruvic acid (making two ATPs)
9. chemiosmosis: a process for synthesizing ATP using the energy of an electro-
chemical gradient and the ATP synthase enzyme (making 28 ATPs)
10. citric acid cycle: completes the breakdown of glucose by oxidizing a derivative
of pyruvate to carbon dioxide (making 2 ATPs)
11. electron transport chain: series of electron carrier proteins that shuttle
high-energy electrons during ATP-generating reactions
12. steroid: a type of lipid (terpene) characterized by a carbon skeleton consisting
of four rings (6-6-6-5) with various functional groups attached
13. indole: a particular chemical structure found in serotonin and LSD, has two
fused rings
14. monoterpene: a single terpene unit, contains two isoprene units
15. proximal convoluted tubule: first section of the renal tubule that the blood flows
through; reabsorption of water, ions, and all organic nutrients
16. distal convoluted tubule: between the loop of Henle and the collecting duct,
selective reabsorption and secretion occur here, most notably to regulate reabsorp-
tion of water and sodium
17. cortical portion of collecting duct: reabsorbs NaCl but is impermeable to
water
18. medullary portion of collecting duct: more permeable to water than to NaCl
(glomerular filtrate reaches highest concentration)
19. transcription factors: a regulatory protein that binds to DNA and affects tran-
scription of specific genes
20. active transport: the movement of ions or molecules across a cell membrane
into a region of higher concentration, assisted by enzymes and requiring energy
, Medical College Admissions Test
21. receptor mediated endocytosis: the movement of specific molecules into a
cell by the inward budding of membranous vesicles containing proteins with receptor
sites specific to the molecules being taken in, enables a cell to acquire bulk quantities
of specific substances
22. diffusion directly through the membrane: accomplished by hydrophobic mol-
ecules
23. ion channel: a complex of protein molecules in a cell membrane that form a
pore through which ions can pass, used for electrochemical gradients (secondary
transport)
24. translocation: change to a chromosome in which a fragment of one chromo-
some attaches to a nonhomologous chromosome
25. lipid rafts: lipids assembled in a defined patch in the cell membrane, specifically
the plasma membrane
26. microtubules: a hollow rod composed of tubulin proteins that makes up part of
the cytoskeleton in all eukaryotic cells and is found in cilia and flagella, form mitotic
spindle in cell division
27. microfilaments: fine, threadlike proteins found in the cell's cytoskeleton used
for cell movement, made up of actin
28. intermediate filaments: threadlike proteins in the cell's cytoskeleton that are
roughly twice as thick as microfilaments, not used for cellular movement, instead
used to anchor organelles in place
29. countercurrent exchange system: a system for exchanging materials or heat
when the two different components flow in opposite directions past each other,
pertains to renal medulla osmolarity
30. glomerular capillary pressure: blood pressure inside capillary tends to move
fluid or filtrate out of capillary into Bowman's capsule
31. capsular hydrostatic pressure: pressure exerted by fluid in the glomerular
capsule against the fluids coming out of the glomerulus, 1st form of opposition to
filtration
32. blood colloid osmotic pressure: the largest driving force for pulling fluid from
the interstitial spaces back into the capillaries, tries to pull water in because it has
less solutes in solution
33. enzyme activator: molecules that bind to enzymes and increase their activity
34. oxidative phosphorylation: electron transport chain and chemiosmosis
35. acetyl coenzyme A: the entry compound for the Krebs cycle in cellular respira-
tion; formed from a fragment of pyruvate attached to a coenzyme
36. mRNA: type of RNA that carries instructions from DNA in the nucleus to the
ribosome
37. tRNA: type of RNA that carries amino acids to the ribosome during translation
, Medical College Admissions Test
38. rRNA: type of RNA that makes up part of the ribosome
39. inducible enzyme: an enzyme generated in response to an external factor
40. endothelial cells: the type of cells that line the interior surface of all blood
vessels, only one cell thick in capillaries
41. bacterial DNA: exist in the form of a single circular chromosome, aggregated in
a dense area of cell called the nucleoid, may also contain other nonessential pieces
of DNA called plasmids
42. endomembrane system: a network of membranes inside and around a eu-
karyotic cell, related either through direct physical contact or by the transfer of
membranous vesicles
43. primacy effect: tendency to remember words at the beginning of a list especially
well
44. state dependency effect: memory retrieval is most efficient when an individual
is in the same state of consciousness as they were when the memory was formed
45. misinformation effect: incorporating misleading information into one's memory
of an event
46. dual-coding effect: both visual and verbal information is used to represent
information
47. spreading activation model: a connectionist theory proposing that people
organize general knowledge based on their individual experiences
48. recency effect: tendency to remember words at the end of a list especially well
49. source monitoring error: occurs when a memory derived from one source is
misattributed to another source
50. psychodynamic theory: freudian theory that unconscious forces determine
behavior
51. behaviorist approach: BF Skinner, think classical and operant conditioning
52. trait theory: a theory of personality that focuses on identifying, describing, and
measuring individual differences in behavioral predispositions
53. humanist approach: a psychology perspective that adopts a holistic approach
to human existence through investigations of meaning, values, freedom, tragedy,
personal responsibility, human potential, spirituality, and self-actualization, carl
rogers unconditional positive regard
54. reticular activation system: a diffuse network of nerve pathways in the brain-
stem connecting the spinal cord, cerebrum, and cerebellum, and mediating the
overall level of consciousness.
55. actor-observer bias: the tendency to blame our actions on the situation and
blame the actions of others on their personalities
56. dispositional attribution: assuming that another's behavior is due to personal-
ity factors, not situational ones
1. stop codon: codon that signals to ribosomes to stop translation (last exon in a
series of exons)
2. partial coding sequence: portion of DNA/RNA that codes for protein (subset of
a exon)
3. splice acceptor site: Located at the 3' end of the intron, terminates the intron
with an AG sequence (exon/intron border)
4. splice donor site: 5' end of intron (exon/intron border)
5. promoter: region of DNA that indicates to an enzyme where to bind to make RNA
6. signal sequence: the sequence mature RNA sequence within a protein that
directs the protein to a particular organelle
7. nuclear localization signal: the signal sequence for the nucleus that enables
proteins to move through pores in the nuclear envelope
8. glycolysis: first step in releasing the energy of glucose, in which a molecule of
glucose is broken into two molecules of pyruvic acid (making two ATPs)
9. chemiosmosis: a process for synthesizing ATP using the energy of an electro-
chemical gradient and the ATP synthase enzyme (making 28 ATPs)
10. citric acid cycle: completes the breakdown of glucose by oxidizing a derivative
of pyruvate to carbon dioxide (making 2 ATPs)
11. electron transport chain: series of electron carrier proteins that shuttle
high-energy electrons during ATP-generating reactions
12. steroid: a type of lipid (terpene) characterized by a carbon skeleton consisting
of four rings (6-6-6-5) with various functional groups attached
13. indole: a particular chemical structure found in serotonin and LSD, has two
fused rings
14. monoterpene: a single terpene unit, contains two isoprene units
15. proximal convoluted tubule: first section of the renal tubule that the blood flows
through; reabsorption of water, ions, and all organic nutrients
16. distal convoluted tubule: between the loop of Henle and the collecting duct,
selective reabsorption and secretion occur here, most notably to regulate reabsorp-
tion of water and sodium
17. cortical portion of collecting duct: reabsorbs NaCl but is impermeable to
water
18. medullary portion of collecting duct: more permeable to water than to NaCl
(glomerular filtrate reaches highest concentration)
19. transcription factors: a regulatory protein that binds to DNA and affects tran-
scription of specific genes
20. active transport: the movement of ions or molecules across a cell membrane
into a region of higher concentration, assisted by enzymes and requiring energy
, Medical College Admissions Test
21. receptor mediated endocytosis: the movement of specific molecules into a
cell by the inward budding of membranous vesicles containing proteins with receptor
sites specific to the molecules being taken in, enables a cell to acquire bulk quantities
of specific substances
22. diffusion directly through the membrane: accomplished by hydrophobic mol-
ecules
23. ion channel: a complex of protein molecules in a cell membrane that form a
pore through which ions can pass, used for electrochemical gradients (secondary
transport)
24. translocation: change to a chromosome in which a fragment of one chromo-
some attaches to a nonhomologous chromosome
25. lipid rafts: lipids assembled in a defined patch in the cell membrane, specifically
the plasma membrane
26. microtubules: a hollow rod composed of tubulin proteins that makes up part of
the cytoskeleton in all eukaryotic cells and is found in cilia and flagella, form mitotic
spindle in cell division
27. microfilaments: fine, threadlike proteins found in the cell's cytoskeleton used
for cell movement, made up of actin
28. intermediate filaments: threadlike proteins in the cell's cytoskeleton that are
roughly twice as thick as microfilaments, not used for cellular movement, instead
used to anchor organelles in place
29. countercurrent exchange system: a system for exchanging materials or heat
when the two different components flow in opposite directions past each other,
pertains to renal medulla osmolarity
30. glomerular capillary pressure: blood pressure inside capillary tends to move
fluid or filtrate out of capillary into Bowman's capsule
31. capsular hydrostatic pressure: pressure exerted by fluid in the glomerular
capsule against the fluids coming out of the glomerulus, 1st form of opposition to
filtration
32. blood colloid osmotic pressure: the largest driving force for pulling fluid from
the interstitial spaces back into the capillaries, tries to pull water in because it has
less solutes in solution
33. enzyme activator: molecules that bind to enzymes and increase their activity
34. oxidative phosphorylation: electron transport chain and chemiosmosis
35. acetyl coenzyme A: the entry compound for the Krebs cycle in cellular respira-
tion; formed from a fragment of pyruvate attached to a coenzyme
36. mRNA: type of RNA that carries instructions from DNA in the nucleus to the
ribosome
37. tRNA: type of RNA that carries amino acids to the ribosome during translation
, Medical College Admissions Test
38. rRNA: type of RNA that makes up part of the ribosome
39. inducible enzyme: an enzyme generated in response to an external factor
40. endothelial cells: the type of cells that line the interior surface of all blood
vessels, only one cell thick in capillaries
41. bacterial DNA: exist in the form of a single circular chromosome, aggregated in
a dense area of cell called the nucleoid, may also contain other nonessential pieces
of DNA called plasmids
42. endomembrane system: a network of membranes inside and around a eu-
karyotic cell, related either through direct physical contact or by the transfer of
membranous vesicles
43. primacy effect: tendency to remember words at the beginning of a list especially
well
44. state dependency effect: memory retrieval is most efficient when an individual
is in the same state of consciousness as they were when the memory was formed
45. misinformation effect: incorporating misleading information into one's memory
of an event
46. dual-coding effect: both visual and verbal information is used to represent
information
47. spreading activation model: a connectionist theory proposing that people
organize general knowledge based on their individual experiences
48. recency effect: tendency to remember words at the end of a list especially well
49. source monitoring error: occurs when a memory derived from one source is
misattributed to another source
50. psychodynamic theory: freudian theory that unconscious forces determine
behavior
51. behaviorist approach: BF Skinner, think classical and operant conditioning
52. trait theory: a theory of personality that focuses on identifying, describing, and
measuring individual differences in behavioral predispositions
53. humanist approach: a psychology perspective that adopts a holistic approach
to human existence through investigations of meaning, values, freedom, tragedy,
personal responsibility, human potential, spirituality, and self-actualization, carl
rogers unconditional positive regard
54. reticular activation system: a diffuse network of nerve pathways in the brain-
stem connecting the spinal cord, cerebrum, and cerebellum, and mediating the
overall level of consciousness.
55. actor-observer bias: the tendency to blame our actions on the situation and
blame the actions of others on their personalities
56. dispositional attribution: assuming that another's behavior is due to personal-
ity factors, not situational ones
