Exam 2: Biological Foundations: Heredity, Prenatal Development, and Birth

Why would a person be naturally concerned about undergoing an amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling during their pregnancy?

Which of the following circumstances would indicate the greatest level of heritability of a trait?

Kathleen and Alphonse are expecting their first child, and are having a pleasant conversation about the sex of the baby. Kathleen says, "Well, as long as all of the chromosomes are X, we'll be having a girl!" Which of the following would be the best answer for Alphonse to give?

Troy is very interested in the field of fetal medicine. Given this, he would most likely be fascinated by a book titled

The fact that ingestion of nicotine can lead to an increased risk of miscarriage or low birth weight while contracting rubella can cause aberrant development of the eyes, ears, and heart demonstrates that

The presence of teratogens during pregnancy creates the risk of problems in development. Your textbook identifies several principles that govern the relationship between teratogens and normal development. List and describe three of those principles.

The time between conception and birth is called the ________ period.

Roz is in the process of giving birth to her daughter. The baby has made its way from the uterus into the vagina, and is currently being expelled from Roz's body as Roz contracts her abdominal muscles. In which stage of labor is Roz?

While Jonah was making his way through his mother's birth canal, his umbilical cord got wrapped around his neck. Thankfully this situation was resolved before Jonah developed _______, which would have involved a disruption of oxygenated blood to his brain.

Kendrie suffers from sickle cell anemia. She is not just a carrier of the illness, but she actually has the disease itself. Which of the following best describes Kendrie's red blood cell alleles?

Which of the following is a relative limitation of the use of an ultrasound?

Why is it that environmental teratogens may be even more treacherous to deal with than, say, maternal illnesses or the use of drugs during pregnancy?

In Germany in the 1950s, the effects of teratogens gained widespread attention when pregnant women who took ________ to help them sleep gave birth to babies with deformations of their heads, legs, hands, and/or fingers. Over 7,000 babies were harmed by this drug before it was removed from the market.

Jack and Jill are twins. Because he is a boy, Jack's parents encourage him to run. However, they discourage Jill from engaging in athletic activity. As a result, Jack is much faster at running up a hill than Jill. The difference in Jack and Jill's behavior is best explained by

When the alleles in a pair of chromosomes are the same, they are referred to as heterozygous.

One of the difficulties associated with the use of anesthesia during childbirth is that anesthetized mothers cannot use their abdominal muscles to push the baby through the birth canal.

Genotype is to phenotype as

Describe why in vitro fertilization and eugenics represent controversial issues in human development.

A movement to improve the human species by letting only specific people with desirable characteristics procreate is called ________.

List three prenatal tests that might be offered to a pregnant woman, describe each test, and comment on the benefits and drawbacks of each test.