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Unit 1:
Ch. 1
Ch. 2
Ch. 3
Interlude A
Unit 2:
Ch. 4
Ch. 5
Ch. 6
Ch. 7
Ch. 8
Ch. 9
Interlude B
Unit 3:
Ch. 10
Ch. 11
Ch. 12
Ch. 13
Ch. 14
Ch. 15
Interlude C
Unit 4:
Ch. 16
Ch. 17
Ch. 18
Ch. 19
Interlude D
Unit 5:
Ch. 20
Ch. 21
Ch. 22
Ch. 23
Ch. 24
Ch. 25
Interlude E
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  • vaccine: A preparation of killed or weakened pathogens that is used to stimulate the vertebrate immune system as a protection against future attack by that pathogen.
  • vacuole: A large water-filled vesicle found in plant cells. Vacuoles help maintain the shape of plant cells and can also be used to store food molecules.
  • vagina: The reproductive structure in female animals into which the penis of a male deposits sperm.
  • vascular cambium: A type of lateral meristem tissue that contributes to secondary growth by dividing to form new vascular tissues. Compare cork cambium.
  • vascular system: The tissue system in plants that is devoted to internal transport.
  • vector: In DNA technology, a piece of DNA that is used to transfer a gene or other DNA fragment from one organism to another.
  • vein: A blood vessel that carries blood to the heart. Compare artery.
  • ventricle: A chamber in a heart that receives blood from the atrium and contracts to propel blood away from the heart. Compare atrium.
  • vertebrates: A group of animals with backbones. Vertebrates include fish, amphibians, mammals, birds, and reptiles.
  • vesicle: A small, membrane-enclosed sac found in the cytosol of eukaryotic cells.
  • vestibular apparatus: A collection of mechano receptors and associated structures in the ear that plays a central role in maintaining the sense of balance in vertebrates.
  • vestibule: The portion of the vestibular apparatus that contains the otoliths and mechanoreceptors that make it possible to detect gravitational pull.
  • vestigial organ: A structure or body part that served a purpose in an ancestral species, but is currently of little or no use to the organism that has it.
  • villus (pl. villi): One of numerous tiny projections that increase the absorptive surface of the small intestine.
  • virus: An infectious particle consisting of nucleic acids and proteins. A virus cannot reproduce on its own, and must instead use the cellular machinery of its host to reproduce.
  • vitamin: An organic compound required by consumers in small amounts.

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