39 of the SEHS glossary’s terms, each with the part of the syllabus where you first meet it.
A skill-related component of fitness: the ability to keep the centre of mass over the base of support, either when stationary (static) or when moving (dynamic).
A multiaxial synovial joint in which a ball-shaped head fits into a cup-shaped socket, allowing movement in all three planes including rotation and circumduction, such as the hip and shoulder.
A stretch receptor in the walls of the aortic arch and carotid arteries that detects changes in blood pressure and informs the cardiovascular control centre.
The minimum rate of energy expenditure needed to maintain essential body functions at complete rest, measured lying down, awake, after fasting and in a comfortable temperature.
The area enclosed by the outermost points of contact between a body and the supporting surface, including the area between those points.
Measuring an individual's fitness and related values before a training programme begins, so that intensities can be set and later progress compared with the starting point.
The three innate needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness that, according to self-determination theory, must be satisfied for optimal motivation, development and well-being.
A mini-theory of self-determination theory proposing that well-being and optimal functioning depend on satisfying the needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness, and that thwarting any of them leads to ill-being.
A principle stating that the pressure in a moving fluid falls as its speed increases, so a body with faster flow over one side is pushed towards that lower-pressure side.
The process in the mitochondria that breaks fatty acids down into two-carbon units of acetyl coenzyme A, which then enter the Krebs cycle.
A model that describes personality with five broad traits (openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism), each measured on a continuum from low to high.
The transfer of learning from one side of the body to the other, for example from the dominant to the non-dominant foot or hand.
A technique in which devices measure a physiological variable such as heart rate, heart rate variability, skin conductance or muscle activity and display it, so the individual learns to control it voluntarily.
Lang's theory that an image is stored as stimulus propositions about the situation and response propositions about the person's reactions, and that imagery is most effective when it includes the responses.
A faulty movement pattern, often developed through habit, fatigue, weakness or previous injury, that places abnormal or excessive load on a tissue and increases the risk of injury.
The study of the forces acting on and within the human body and the effects of these forces on movement, applying the laws of mechanics to sport, exercise and health.
A method of reducing bias by withholding which condition a participant is in from the participant (single-blind) or from both the participants and the researchers who measure them (double-blind).
A pocket of fluid between layers of skin caused by repeated friction, for example between a shoe and the heel; a cumulative skin injury.
Practising one skill, or one version of a skill, repeatedly before moving on to the next, which improves performance quickly during practice.
The homeostatic control of blood glucose concentration by negative feedback, in which the pancreas releases insulin when glucose rises and glucagon when it falls.
A measure of the hydrogen ion concentration of the blood; the more hydrogen ions, the lower the pH. Normal arterial pH is about 7.35–7.45.
The force exerted by blood on the walls of the blood vessels, usually measured in the large arteries in mmHg and written as systolic over diastolic pressure, such as 120/80 mmHg.
The change in the distribution of cardiac output during exercise, in which vasodilation increases flow to working muscles and vasoconstriction reduces flow to less active organs such as the gut and kidneys.
The relative proportions of fat mass and fat-free mass (muscle, bone, organs and water) in the body, usually expressed as body fat percentage.
Body mass in kilograms divided by the square of height in metres, used to classify adults as underweight, healthy, overweight (25–29.9) or obese (30 or more); it does not distinguish fat from muscle.
The total volume of water contained in the body, about 55–60% of body mass in adults, divided between the intracellular fluid and the extracellular fluid.
The rightward shift of the oxygen–haemoglobin dissociation curve caused by more carbon dioxide, higher acidity and higher temperature, so haemoglobin releases more oxygen at a given pO₂.
A hard, living connective tissue whose matrix of collagen is hardened with calcium phosphate; bones support and protect the body, act as levers for movement, store minerals and produce blood cells.
The amount of mineral, mainly calcium, per unit area or volume of bone, measured by a DXA scan and used as an index of bone strength.
The thin layer of fluid next to the surface of a moving body, slowed by friction with that surface; where it separates from the body decides the size of the wake.
A controlled breathing technique with four equal phases, usually of 4 seconds each: breathe in, hold, breathe out, hold; it slows breathing and lowers heart rate and arousal.
A resting heart rate below 60 beats min⁻¹; in trained endurance athletes a normal result of a large stroke volume and high parasympathetic activity.
Attention that takes in a wide range of cues at the same time, used to assess a changing situation or to plan.
A type of fat tissue, plentiful in newborns and present in smaller amounts in adults, whose mitochondria release energy from fat directly as heat in non-shivering thermogenesis.
A substance in a body fluid that resists changes in pH by combining with or releasing hydrogen ions; the main blood buffer is hydrogen carbonate (bicarbonate).
A bundle of specialised conducting fibres that carries the impulse from the AV node down the septum of the heart, dividing into left and right bundle branches.
The upward force exerted by a fluid on a body that is partly or wholly immersed in it, equal to the weight of the fluid the body displaces.
A syndrome of physical and emotional exhaustion, reduced sense of accomplishment and devaluation of sport, caused by long-term stress when demands exceed an athlete’s resources.
A small fluid-filled sac lined with synovial membrane between a bone and a tendon, ligament or the skin, which reduces friction where these structures move over one another.