Deck 16: Biomedical Anthropology

Question 1

Which of the following is an example of an epidemiological transition?

A) AIDS drugs prolong the lives of sufferers thereby affecting the disease's prevalence rate
B) a highly contagious disease becomes spreads rapidly, increasing its incidence rate
C) patterns of disease and mortality change as societies become more developed
D) all of these

Answer 1

patterns of disease and mortality change as societies become more developed

Question 2

Late starting genetic diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and cancer are examples of __________.

A) the environmental mismatch between our bodies' design and contemporary environments
B) evolutionary design compromises
C) pleiotropic gene effects
D) defenses vs. defects

Answer 2

pleiotropic gene effects

Question 3

The biocultural view __________.

A) focuses solely on the role of culture variables of disease
B) focuses mostly on disease's biological and environmental variables
C) takes into account both biological and cultural aspects of disease
D) does not include the role of behavior and its influence on disease

Answer 3

takes into account both biological and cultural aspects of disease

Question 4

Which of the following best defines epidemiology?

A) the quantitative study of disease in populations
B) the qualitative study of disease in populations
C) the study of human remains to determine the cause of death
D) none of these

Question 5

Mortality rates are measures of the __________.

A) amount of births per 1,000 deaths in a population
B) crude death rate divided by the number of events
C) probability of dying within a given period of time
D) population at risk for a certain illness

Question 6

Illness is a product of __________.

A) genes
B) culture
C) environment
D) all of these

Question 7

Presently 60% of all deaths in America are caused by __________.

A) infectious diseases
B) diseases of old age
C) accidents
D) crime-related injuries

Question 8

Antibiotics are particularly effective because bacteria never develop resistance to them.

Question 9

A human infant's brain is nearly as large as an adult chimpanzee brain.

Question 10

The "Darwinian approach" to understanding disease is referred to as __________.

A) evolutionary medicine
B) auxism
C) the biocultural approach
D) epidemiology

Question 11

__________ is the subfield of biological anthropology concerned with issues of health and wellness.

A) epidemiology
B) biomedical anthropology
C) auxology
D) forensics

Question 12

Of the more than 4 million births in the U.S. in 2000, over __________% occurred in hospitals.

A) 95
B) 97
C) 99
D) 90

Question 13

Changes in the prevalence rate of a disease do not necessarily tell us anything about the incidence rate.

Question 14

A person with pneumonia presents with a cough and darkening skin. The cough is a __________, or an adaptation designed to eject infectious material from the lungs.

A) defense
B) defect
C) pathogen
D) pleiotropic gene effect

Question 15

Anorexia nervosa only occurs in North America.

Question 16

Which of the following best defines auxology?

A) the quantitative study of disease in populations
B) the qualitative study of disease in populations
C) the study of human growth and development
D) the study of human remains to determine the cause of death

Question 17

The occurrence of new cases of a disease is calculated as the __________.

A) prevalence rate
B) crude death rate
C) mortality rate
D) incidence rate

Question 18

Prevalence rate is a function of both incidence and __________.

A) death rate
B) incidence rate
C) population
D) duration

Question 19

The epidemiological measurement of rate equals __________.

A) population at risk/events
B) events/population at midyear
C) events/population at risk
D) crude death rate/ events

Question 20

A good example of an ailment caused by an evolutionary design compromise is __________.

A) back pain
B) coughing
C) cancer
D) obesity

Question 21

The age at which puberty appears varies greatly between primate species.

Question 22

Menopause appears to be a maladaptive feature with little evolutionary merit.

Question 23

Migrant studies of Mayans indicated that Mayan stature is purely a genetic feature and is not affected by environment.

Question 24

Compared to other animal species, humans __________.

A) have a short maximum life span
B) reach puberty later
C) undergo senescence at a younger age
D) all of these

Question 25

The anthropological model of human growth and development __________.

A) views the way humans grow in high-stress environments in the context of non-genetic adaptation
B) views any deviation from optima growth patterns as evidence of ill health
C) tends to focus on biological explanations
D) all of these

Question 26

The processes of growth and development remain constant, regardless of environmental conditions.

Question 27

The secular trend in growth refers to the fact that __________.

A) primates all reach sexual maturity at the same age
B) adolescence provides fro more social learning
C) children in industrialized nations grow larger
D) mortality rates rarely change over time

Question 28

Which of the following is unique to humans?

A) puberty
B) gestation
C) the adolescent growth spurt
D) altricial offspring

Question 29

Passage through the stages of infancy and the juvenile stage are defined with reference to __________.

A) average weight
B) the appearance of permanent teeth
C) sexual maturity
D) all of these

Question 30

Aging may be the result of __________.

A) accumulated DNA damage
B) free radical action
C) pleiotropic gene effects
D) all of these

Question 31

Humans are the only primates that have menopause.

Question 32

Which of the following does NOT contribute to menopause?

A) a finite number of eggs
B) atresia
C) age
D) the secular trend in growth

Question 33

The effects of Werner's syndrome support the theory that __________ causes aging.

A) DNA damage
B) free radicals
C) senescence
D) menopause

Question 34

In industrialized nations, the age of menarche will be __________ than in non-industrialized nations.

A) the same
B) slightly older
C) younger
D) much older

Question 35

The secular trend in growth is a result of a reduction of the impact of disease and __________.

A) better nutrition
B) more exposure to sunlight
C) pollutants
D) natural selection

Question 36

In humans, a prolonged juvenile stage __________.

A) prolongs the onset of adulthood
B) provides and extended period of social learning
C) allows for a spurt in neurological development
D) all of these

Question 37

Schultz's first stage of development is the __________ stage.

A) teratogen
B) juvenile
C) infancy
D) prenatal

Question 38

The most common human teratogen is __________.

A) nuclear radiation
B) alcohol
C) tobacco smoke
D) PCBs

Question 39

Growth and development is charted using __________.

A) height
B) head circumference
C) cognitive skills
D) all of these

Question 40

Which of the following is typical of the gestational stage?

A) the appearance of the first permanent teeth
B) the appearance of the last permanent teeth
C) rapid development
D) puberty

Question 41

Individuals infected with the protozoan Plasmodium vivax are in danger of contracting __________.

A) sickle cell disorder
B) bubonic plague
C) malaria
D) river blindness

Question 42

Which of the following best describes free radicals?

A) accumulations in mutations over time
B) molecules with unpaired electrons
C) the pleiotropic effects of certain genes
D) disposable soma

Question 43

The __________ asserts that it is more efficient for an organism to devote resources towards reproduction rather than towards maintenance of the body.

A) free radical
B) pleiotropic gene theory
C) disposable soma theory
D) thrifty genotype

Question 44

Pathogens are identified by __________.

A) taxonomy
B) mode of transmission
C) organ systems they affect
D) all of these

Question 45

Individuals suffering from pellagra __________.

A) are probably from a hunter-gatherer culture
B) lack niacin in their diet
C) lack thiamine in their diet
D) lack lime in their diet

Question 46

Individuals suffering from beriberi __________.

A) are probably from a hunter-gatherer culture
B) lack niacin in their diet
C) lack thiamine in their diet
D) lack lime in their diet

Question 47

Compared to contemporary diets, the Paleolithic diet is __________.

A) high in micronutrients and proteins
B) high in sodium
C) low in carbohydrates
D) all of these

Question 48

Individuals who do not naturally produce the enzyme superoxode dismutase suffer from unusually high levels of __________.

A) accumulated DNA damage
B) free radical action
C) pleiotropic gene effects
D) all of these

Question 49

Antigens __________.

A) synthesize antibodies
B) are comprised of immunoglobins
C) are foreign substances in the body
D) are the same thing as T cells.

Question 50

Problems associated with the so-called thrifty-gene is associated with __________.

A) obesity
B) diets of excess
C) diabetes
D) all of these

Question 51

Using such terms as altricial and birth canal, explain how normal human childbirth represents a design compromise.

Question 52

Agriculturalists are more likely to suffer from nutritional stress than hunter-gatherers.

Question 53

Agricultural populations may be more vulnerable to infectious disease due to their __________.

A) higher populations
B) sedentary lifestyle
C) limited access to a variety of water sources
D) all of these

Question 54

Explain the biocultural aspects of anorexia nervosa.

Question 55

As a species, we are well adapted to living in an environment of continuous nutritional abundance.

Question 56

What is the difference between incidence rate and prevalence rate? How might cultural factors affect these?

Question 57

The Black Death is a good example of how __________ can spread infectious disease.

A) agriculture
B) migration
C) antigens
D) sunlight

Question 58

Individual and cultural practices have little to no effect on the spread of infectious disease.

Question 59

__________ engulf and destroy infectious agents.

A) Phagocytes
B) T cells
C) Helper T cells
D) B lymphocytes

Question 60

Which of the following is not an example of a cultural response to disease?

A) lysozomes
B) vaccines
C) quarantine
D) drugs

Question 61

Outline three individual behaviors that help spread infectious diseases. How might broader cultural practices such as agriculture and migration contribute to the spread of infectious diseases?

Question 62

Citing specific examples, explain two evolutionary adaptations to disease.

Question 63

What is the secular trend in growth? How might migration studies help us understand this phenomenon?

Question 64

In what ways do contemporary diets differ from typical hunter-gatherer diets? How has the advent of agriculture affected diet?

Question 65

Explain the concept of a thrifty genotype. What are the pleiotropic effects of such a genotype in an industrialized, well-fed culture?

Question 66

What are the possible causes of aging? Explain the non-adaptive theories for the presence of aging.

Question 67

What is menopause and what are the contributing factors to its onset? What are some possible adaptive features of menopause?

Question 68

Outline Schultz's life stages. What does Bogin add to this? Explain why we need adolescence.