Deck 12: Human Adaptation to a Changing World

Question 1

How is medical anthropology different from Western medicine?

A)It approaches the study of human health and sickness as biological and cultural phenomena.
B)It approaches human disease as a function of biology and culture.
C)It considers disease to be primarily a cultural function.
D)It approaches biological functions from a cross-cultural perspective using ethnomedicine as the correct solution.
E)It is the noninterventional and noninvasive study of disease,illness,and medicine.

Answer 1

It approaches the study of human health and sickness as biological and cultural phenomena.

Question 2

Peter Ellison has focused on the study of reproductive biology and human health,pioneering techniques for:

A)measuring long bones.
B)noninvasive analysis of brain waves.
C)hormonal analysis.
D)fetal studies.
E)studying depression.

Answer 2

hormonal analysis.

Question 3

A permanent phenotypic variation derived from interaction between genes and the environment during the period of growth and development is called:

A)genetic adaptation.
B)developmental adaptation.
C)congenital adaptation.
D)physiological adaptation.
E)natural selection.

Answer 3

developmental adaptation.

Question 4

Which of the following best describes accelerated breathing for a non-native at high altitude?

A)Physiological adaptation
B)Genetic adaptation
C)Physical adaptation
D)Hormonal adaptation
E)Developmental adaptation

Question 5

Which theory accounts for the discrete genetic changes built into the allele frequencies of populations?

A)Random genetic shift
B)Physiological adaptation
C)Natural selection
D)Directional selection
E)Developmental adaptation

Question 6

The tendency for the bodies of mammals living in cold climates to be shorter and rounder than members of the same species in warmer climates is known as:

A)a hunting response.
B)a secular trend.
C)Ellison's rule.
D)Allen's rule.
E)Bergman's rule.

Question 7

What ethical dilemma was involved in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study?

A)A group of poor,African-American airmen from WW II was intentionally infected with syphilis in order to study the progress of the disease among minorities.
B)A group of poor,African-American men received the wrong medication for syphilis and were denied entrance to a hospital.
C)Adequate treatment for syphilis was withheld,without notification,from a group of poor,African-American men.
D)Adequate treatment for syphilis was withheld,without notification,from a group of poor,African-American women.
E)People in the community of Tuskegee (women,men,and children)were intentionally infected with syphilis to provide medical internship opportunities for doctors.

Question 8

Medical anthropologists argue that one of the major determinants of sickness is/are:

A)air pollution.
B)mining residues.
C)germs.
D)poverty.
E)imprisonment.

Question 9

One of the most critical factors involved in the onset of menarche in women is:

A)specific ratio of body fat to lean mass.
B)presence of testosterone.
C)specific level of protein consumption.
D)level of individual nutrition.
E)amount of UV radiation that has accumulated.

Question 10

When does growth stop in the development of long bones?

A)When the 12-year molars emerge in the child
B)When the long bone reaches the proximal femoral epiphysis
C)When the diaphysis fuses to the epiphysis
D)When the physis,or growth plate,shifts to the front of the bone
E)When the epiphysis fuses with the rest of the bone

Question 11

Which of the following represents a secular trend?

A)Hormonal levels affected by increasing levels of stress in urban environments
B)The global spread of epidemics
C)Variation in skin color from one region to another
D)Immigrant children being taller than their parents
E)Individual differences in genotype

Question 12

Over the course of our evolutionary history,most environmental stressors were climatic and geographic.Now,however:

A)humans have little environmental stressors,climatic or geographic.
B)nonhuman primates have more stressors than humans.
C)humans face a series of new environmental stressors of their own making.
D)humans also face daily weather stressors.
E)humans have climatic stress,but geographical stress has been removed because of technology.

Question 13

A patterned set of ideas and practices relating to illness is called:

A)a medical treatment plan.
B)medical pluralism.
C)a medical system.
D)a Western medical plan.
E)a disease system.

Question 14

Each human has approximately__________________sweat glands that spread out over a greater surface area on tall,thin bodies,facilitating water evaporation and heat loss.

A)3 million
B)500,000
C)5 million
D)1 million
E)2 million

Question 15

Acclimatization is:

A)a short-term physiological adjustment made in response to fetal stress.
B)a long-term physiological adjustment in response to specific environmental stimuli.
C)a long-term developmental adjustment in response to specific environmental stimulus.
D)a short-term developmental adjustment in response to fetal stress.
E)an adjustment that varies from person to person and cannot be affected by cultural adaptation.

Question 16

Who is credited with discovering the features of the human growth curve?

A)Bronislaw Malinowski
B)Clifford Geertz
C)Franz Boas
D)Margaret Mead
E)Leslie White

Question 17

If your body burns energy at a higher rate than that of someone else,then you have a higher:

A)carbolic rate.
B)metabolic rate.
C)heart rate.
D)hunting response.
E)caloric consumption rate.

Question 18

Adaptation depends upon:

A)the individual's willingness to participate.
B)the interaction of all alleles.
C)three primary genes.
D)multiple interacting genes.
E)the individual's mortality rate.

Question 19

The cyclic expansion and contraction of blood vessels of the limbs in order to prevent frostbite while maintaining heat in the body core is called a(n):

A)secular trend.
B)developmental adaptation.
C)physiological adaptation.
D)hunting response.
E)gathering response.

Question 20

Menarche is:

A)cessation of menstrual cycles.
B)the period of lactation that occurs after a baby is born.
C)the period of infertility a woman has after giving birth.
D)first onset of the menstrual cycle.
E)when a woman becomes infertile because of environmental stress.

Question 21

The chapter concludes all of the following except:

A)for planetary survival humans must reduce the number of cities around the world.
B)globalizing processes have sparked a need for a new worldview.
C)humans need to increase cross-cultural understanding.
D)successfully managing the planet includes respect for all cultures.
E)our various cultures must adapt in the coming years.

Question 22

edical pluralism is:

A)an approach to human sickness and health combining principles of evolutionary theory and human evolutionary history.
B)a difference in the health status between the wealthy elite and the poor in stratified societies.
C)the presence of multiple medical systems,each with its own practices and beliefs in a society.
D)a patterned set of ideas and practices relating to illness.
E) when there is a surplus of medical practitioners in one area and a scarcity in another (nearby)area.

Question 23

To effectively compare medical systems and health cross-culturally,medical anthropologists have made a theoretical distinction between:

A)Western medicine and folk medicine.
B)doctors and health practitioners.
C)medical systems and folk medicine.
D)"diseases of health" and "mental sickness."
E)"disease" and "illness."

Question 24

Which of the following is classified as a "prion" disease?

A)Smallpox
B)Tuberculosis
C)Kuru
D)Leishmaniasis
E)Susto

Question 25

In Mali,Katherine Dettwyler found that:

A)there was more medical treatment and more prejudice against peoples with disease and handicaps.
B)there was less medical treatment available and less prejudice against people with disease and handicaps.
C)there was more medical treatment and less prejudice against people with disease and handicaps.
D)handicaps were extremely rare.
E)diseased individuals were considered shamans.

Question 26

Down syndrome occurs about once in every how many births?

A)1,000
B)700
C)250
D)100
E)8

Question 27

What is the "Sabido method"?

A)A new form of birth control that is less invasive and more likely to be used cross-culturally
B)A method for childbirth that reduces the mother's and infant's risks
C)A type of interviewing and elicitation method that helps doctors communicate with people cross-culturally
D)A way of curing disease by using teas and others infusions instead of vaccinations
E)The use of media and entertainment as a way of educating people about health

Question 28

How many people died of smallpox in the 20th century?

A)1 billion
B)722 million
C)300 million
D)105 million
E)750,000

Question 29

Approximately how many people in the world today are undernourished?

A)16 billion
B)1 billion
C)700 million
D)200 million
E)89 million

Question 30

Structural violence refers to all of the following except:

A)criminal activity in a small village.
B)physical harm caused by exploitative and unjust social,political,and economic systems.
C)psychological harm caused by exploitative and unjust social,political,and economic systems.
D)conditions caused by repression,environmental destruction,poverty,hunger,illness,and premature death.
E)health disparities between the wealthy and the poor.

Question 31

All of the following factors contributed to the transmission of kuru except:

A)cannibalism
B)colonialism.
C)contaminated water.
D)prion agents.

Question 32

A disease that is widespread in a population is:

A)indigenous.
B)entoptic.
C)endemic.
D)endogamic.
E)polygamic.

Question 33

Medical anthropologist Emily Martin has shown that scientific depictions of infectious disease in the United States draw upon what specific kind of imagery?

A)Violent
B)Fantasy
C)Animal
D)Educational
E)Cartoon

Question 34

In 1996,__________________became the first country to guarantee free antiretroviral access and collaborating with civil and religious groups to develop appropriate counseling,education,and prevention programs to all of its citizens.

A)France
B)Switzerland
C)United States
D)Brazil
E)Sweden

Question 35

How does the prion specifically function inside the human body?

A)It increases blood flow to the brain and liver and causes encephalitis.
B)It grows into tumors and cuts off blood supply to major organs.
C)It breaks down cells and causes hemorrhaging.
D)It grows rapidly and suffocates other proteins.
E)It causes the reorganization and destruction of other proteins.

Question 36

Which of the following is an example of a hormone-disrupting chemical?

A)SIDS
B)AIDS
C)DES
D)CDC
E)DVD

Question 37

According to the text,what is a major challenge in assessing the impact of new cultural practices?

A)Consequences don't appear for years
B)The root cause is unknowable
C)Few people care to investigate
D)Anthropologists look in the wrong places
E)Cultural systems will discard them before they are researched

Question 38

A Western doctor's "white coat" can be compared to a shaman's:

A)poncho.
B)drum or rattle.
C)moccasins or sandals.
D)bed or hammock.
E)flute.

Question 39

A biological abnormality is called a(n):

A)illness.
B)sickness.
C)disease.
D)disorder.
E)affliction.

Question 40

An approach to human sickness and health that combines principles of evolutionary theory and human evolutionary history is called:

A)medical anthropology.
B)Darwinian anthropology.
C)natural selection medicine.
D)revolutionary medicine.
E)evolutionary medicine.

Question 41

James McKenna's research on brain-wave patterns of mothers and infants shows that co-sleeping is not the best practice for families.

Question 42

Identical twins do not necessarily share the same phenotype.

Question 43

Among humans,both males and females have a hunting response.

Question 44

Disease refers to a specific pathology: a physical or biological abnormality.

Question 45

Typical lowlanders can make both long- and short-term physiological adjustments to high altitude.

Question 46

Vaccinations,like all medical procedures,change the social fabric of daily life.

Question 47

Evolutionary medicine proposes that many of the symptoms of illness are the body's own form of medical treatment.

Question 48

The tendency of mammals living in warm climates to have relatively shorter appendages (arms and legs)is called Allen's rule.

Question 49

Hypoxia cannot be modified by culture.

Question 50

Obesity is a type of malnutrition.

Question 51

Experts predict that global warming will actually reduce the number of tropical diseases over the next century.

Question 52

Menopause occurs when a young girl experiences her first menstrual cycle.

Question 53

Differential reproductive success cannot affect allele frequencies in the gene pool.

Question 54

Brain growth in humans is most rapid during the first five years of life.

Question 55

Disease cannot exist in the absence of illness.

Question 56

The Fore abandoned their practice of cannibalism once they understood the biological mechanisms of kuru transmission.

Question 57

Today,any kind of biological research on human subjects without informed consent is illegal in the U.S.

Question 58

A shaman is an indigenous healer.

Question 59

Down syndrome is found only in the U.S.

Question 60

Eighty-five percent of the food cans in the U.S.are lined with hormone-disrupting chemicals.

Question 61

Does your understanding of illness and disease agree with the anthropological distinction? Are there examples of illness without disease with which you are familiar?

Question 62

Define medical pluralism,and discuss the advantages of such an approach.

Question 63

Distinguish between structural violence and health disparity.

Question 64

What is the developmental trajectory of sexual maturation in females?

Question 65

Define evolutionary medicine,and give an example.

Question 66

What must human beings do to successfully adapt to a changing planet in the coming decades?

Question 67

What is acclimatization,and what role does it play in human adaptation to high-altitude environments? Has this ever affected you?

Question 68

Combating infectious disease draws upon violent imagery common to the culture of the U.S.What other types of imagery could be used perhaps more effectively?

Question 69

How can media be used to serve people's healthcare needs?

Question 70

What ethical concerns surround the Tuskegee Syphilis Study from 1932 to 1972?

Question 71

Compare the experience of Down syndrome for the family in the U.S.and Mali.

Question 72

What is a secular trend? Give an example.

Question 73

What is a prion disease? Give an example.

Question 74

Compare and contrast Bergman's rule and Allen's rule,providing examples of each.

Question 75

What is a hormone-disrupting chemical,and what impact does it have on health?

Question 76

What is the role of medical anthropology in the world today?

Question 77

Distinguish between genetic and developmental adaptation.

Question 78

How is Eskimo whale-hunting an adaptive response? Consider biological and cultural aspects.

Question 79

What role does the environment play in female fertility?

Question 80

Why do many athletes today train at high altitude?