Vocabulary Quiz (Health & Medicine)

Question: Which of the following is true about “placebos” and “placebo pills”?

Answer: All of these are true.

Question: What’s the “Ebers papyrus”?

Answer: Abortion techniques were developed as early as 1550 bce, when the Ebers papyrus, an ancient Egyptian medical text, outlined how to induce an abortion.

Question: What is “BMI”?

Answer: Body mass index (BMI) is an estimate of total body fat; adults age 20 or older with a BMI of 30 or more are considered obese.

Question: Throughout much of Western history, the criminality of abortion was tied to the issue of “quickening.” What is “quickening”?

Answer: Throughout much of Western history, abortion was not considered a criminal act as long as it was performed before “quickening” (the first detectable movement of the fetus, which can occur between 13 and 25 weeks of pregnancy).

Question: What does the percentage in “1% milk” represent?

Answer: The percentage refers to the milk’s fat content.

Question: What’s the “Mexico City Policy”?

Answer: At the August 1984 UN International Conference on Population in Mexico City, U.S. Pres. Ronald Reagan announced the Mexico City Policy, which banned all foreign organizations funded by the U.S. from performing or promoting abortions.

Question: Why is milk “pasteurized”?

Answer: Pasteurization, developed by Louis Pasteur in the 1860s, is a process of heating a substance to destroy potentially dangerous microorganisms in it.

Question: Why is milk “homogenized”?

Answer: Homogenization, patented by August Gaulin in 1899, breaks up the fat globules in milk and distributes the fat evenly throughout the liquid so that the cream will not rise to the top; the high-pressure process prevents separation in substances and creates a uniform texture.

Question: “Popcorn lung” is a serious medical condition mainly associated with which of the following?

Answer: Vaping’s effect on the lungs is especially troubling, causing “popcorn lung” (bronchiolitis obliterans, damaging the lungs’ small airways), lipoid pneumonia (from inhaling the oily substances found in e-liquid), and primary spontaneous pneumothorax (collapsed lung).

Question: In the medical field, what is “MAID”?

Answer: Medical aid in dying (MAID) is also called physician-assisted death/dying (PAD).

Question: “TRICARE” routinely provides health care to which group of Americans?

Answer: TRICARE provides health care for U.S. military personnel and their families.

Question: What is “THC”?

Answer: THC is the main psychoactive component of cannabis (marijuana).

Question: “Medicaid” routinely provides health care to which group of Americans?

Answer: The U.S. Medicaid program generally covers, among others, low-income individuals under age 65.

Question: “Medicare” routinely provides health care to which group of Americans?

Answer: The U.S. Medicare program generally covers, among others, most people age 65 or older.

Question: What’s the “Hyde Amendment”?

Answer: All of these answers are true about the Hyde Amendment.